Torn
by Cherry Whisper
Summary: Kaoru is a college student who struggles with the challenges of everyday life. But despite all that she's been through, she always manages to comfort those close to her. But her world turns upside-down when she and a strange man cross paths. (EnishiKaoru)
1. At First Sight

Torn  
  
Chapter One: At First Sight  
  
"SANO, YOU BASTARD!!!"  
  
Kamiya Kaoru sighed as she retrieved two glasses and one mug from the cabinet. She tried to hum to herself as she filled the glasses with orange juice and the other with rich, dark coffee.  
  
"LET-ME-IN!!!" Her ten-year-old cousin pounded his fists against the bathroom door as she placed the beverages and silverware onto the table. She got out three empty plates and a skillet to prepare breakfast.  
  
"You snooze, you lose, brat!" The cocky, jovial voice of her older brother shouted from the other side. Kaoru continued to hum to herself as she cracked two eggs into the frying pan to cook.  
  
'Sunny-side up for Sano...' she thought to herself as she removed the eggs automatically from the pan with her spatula and placed them onto the plate.  
  
"C'MON, I'M GONNA BE LATE!!!"  
  
'Scrambled for Yahiko and me...' Kaoru plopped the freshly cooked eggs onto Yahiko's plate and hers. She then began to fry some bacon in her pan to add to the meals.  
  
"OPEN THE FREAKIN' DOOR!!!"  
  
"Would it kill you to wait another damn minute?!"  
  
"YES!!!"  
  
Kaoru hummed louder while she complemented each person's plate with sizzling bacon and two pieces of dry toast. She set them out with the silverware and also got out a jar of strawberry jam and a small container of butter. Keeping her younger cousin in mind, she also placed a bottle half-filled with tomato ketchup on the table. She knew that Yahiko loved to smother his scrambled eggs with it.  
  
"For the last time, Rooster-head..." Yahiko seethed through gritted teeth. "OPEN—THE—DOOR!!!"  
  
"All right, all right!" The door finally opened and Sanosuke stepped out with a towel hanging around his strong neck and a smirk on his face. As much as he would have loved to kick him, Yahiko held back the urge and sped into the bathroom, slamming the door as he did.  
  
Kaoru gave her brother a disapproving look with her sapphire blue eyes while smearing her toast with jam. "You really shouldn't give the poor kid a hard time, Sano. You know how riled up he can get."  
  
"Hmph," Sano scoffed between bites of his toast and egg. "I'd like to see that little punk try to take me on."  
  
She rolled her eyes and swept her long bangs away from her face with one dainty hand. "That's not what I meant!"  
  
"Whatever, Jou-chan," her brother retorted as he devoured his plate. Kaoru let out another helpless sigh. It was pointless to try and get through to her older sibling: he was too hungry to try and talk to.  
  
After a few minutes, they were joined by their cousin. Yahiko rushed to his seat and immediately started consuming his meal. At the fast pace that the eggs, bacon, and toast were disappearing, Kaoru thought that he practically inhaled his breakfast.  
  
"Slow down," she chided. "You're going to choke."  
  
Yahiko ignored her, downing his glass of juice. "It's hard NOT to choke! The food is really bad."  
  
"Then don't eat it!" She shouted at him, her cheeks flustered. Kaoru hated it when she had to endure Yahiko and Sano's insults about her cooking. She will admit that she wasn't the greatest chef in the universe, but she believed that after so many years of cooking meals for her family, she was decent at the least.  
  
"Oh, can you pick me up after baseball practice?"  
  
She crossed her arms. "You tease me about my cooking and expect me to act like your own personal chauffeur?"  
  
The boy ate another forkful of ketchup-covered scrambled eggs. "Well, Sano's gonna work late tonight—"  
  
"You mean he'll be gambling with those criminals he calls 'friends'," Kaoru shot a dirty look at her brother who was doing his best to look innocent.  
  
"You're the only one that can pick me up..." A hopeful grin spread across Yahiko's face, spanning ear-to-ear. "Unless you'll let me drive—"  
  
"FORGET IT!!!" Kaoru screeched at her cousin. "Yahiko, I said that you wouldn't have access to any automobile for at least eight years, and I mean it!!!"  
  
The boy pouted, his auburn eyes pleading pathetically to the young woman. "But Sano would let me..."  
  
"Don't you drag me into this, brat," Sano muttered in between sips of his strong coffee.  
  
Yahiko gave up his plea act and threw up his arms. "Aw, c'mon! I'd be a great driver!"  
  
Kaoru put up her hand to silence him. "You're ten years old for crying out loud! You're not old enough to drive, and you won't be for a very long time. So get used to it!"  
  
The boy sat back in his seat and continued to sulk. However, Kaoru pretended as if she didn't notice.  
  
"Now put your empty plate in the sink and get your things so I can drop you off at school."  
  
"I don't wanna..." Yahiko answered, his disappointment apparent in his features.  
  
Kaoru took a deep breath, feeling the last sliver of patience slipping out of her hands. "Yahiko, it's almost time to leave. Please get ready."  
  
The boy was adamant in his defiance. "You can't make me!"  
  
Seeing how this was going to get ugly, Sano hid behind the shelter of the morning newspaper.  
  
"Yahiko...get up now..."  
  
"No!"  
  
"I'm not kidding around. Get...up...now."  
  
"I'm staying home!"  
  
"An education isn't a good thing to waste, Yahiko. Please don't throw it away..."  
  
Sano was amused with the black and white print as he mentally began to count to himself. 'Five...'  
  
"I don't want an education!"  
  
'...four...'  
  
"You're not going to pass middle school if you can't get through elementary..."  
  
'...three...'  
  
"I don't care if I don't pass!"  
  
'...two...'  
  
"Yahiko...I'm warning you..."  
  
'...one...'  
  
"You can't tell me what to do!!!"  
  
'...zero...'  
  
"DO AS I SAY!!!" Kaoru exploded, her seemingly innocent demeanor completely thrown off by her present appearance. Her hair sprawled wildly around her as she immediately rose from her seat, her usually calm blue eyes throwing daggers into her younger cousin. "WE TOOK YOU INTO THIS HOUSE SO YOU WILL LISTEN TO US! NOW GO AND GET READY FOR SCHOOL!!!"  
  
Knowing that it wouldn't be wise to do anything else that would provoke his cousin to attack him since her temper had reached its peak, Yahiko hurriedly placed his empty plate into the sink and ran out of the kitchen to gather his schoolbooks. Kaoru exhaled deeply, sinking back into her chair. She buried her face in the palms of her hands as she collected herself.  
  
"You really should learn how to control your temper, Jou-chan," Sano remarked, his thumb turning to the next page of the newspaper.  
  
Kaoru peeked at him through her fingers. "You're one to talk," she answered sarcastically. "And I don't know what else to do, Sano. He just seems to get worse everyday," The irritation in her eyes subsided, a look of concern taking its place. "He's snapping at us more and he's throwing more of these tantrums every time that he doesn't get his way."  
  
"Unless I heard wrong, I think you were the one who just threw the tantrum," her brother commented, half-absorbed by the newspaper.  
  
Kaoru glared at him in annoyance. "Don't you have a job to go to?"  
  
As if he snapped out of a trance, Sano looked at his watch and immediately left his place at the table and sprinted. Kaoru took his plate to the sink, her ears picking up the failed initial attempts of Sano trying to get his car started. After a fourth try, she heard the engine roaring to life and pulling out of the driveway. Turning on the faucet, she quickly scrubbed the crumbs and grease away from the plates and glasses with a sponge laden with suds, thoroughly rinsing them under the running water afterwards. She was putting the last fork away on the drying rack when she heard the shuffle of feet behind her. Kaoru dried her hands with a nearby rag and the sight of Yahiko greeted her sapphire eyes. He was dressed in baggy denim jeans and a plain, dark blue hooded sweater, his schoolbag draped over one shoulder and a duffel bag hanging on the other. His trusty baseball bat was clenched in his right hand. Kaoru couldn't imagine how her cousin was able to carry all those things without his knees giving out from the weight.  
  
"Are you ready?" She asked and was answered by a curt nod. She grabbed her bookbag and obtained her car keys, her unenthusiastic cousin following her. They went out the front door, which Kaoru made certain she locked, and entered the second car that the Kamiya family owned. It used to belong to her father a long time ago, and its age was showing. The tires were worn out and specks of rust began to eat away at the white paint that was once glossy and spotless. Kaoru, however, didn't care. She never was really picky about automobiles because unlike Yahiko, she didn't have an interest in them. As long as the car was able to take her from one place to the other, she was satisfied.  
  
Yahiko threw his things in the back next to Kaoru's and went into the passenger seat. He crossed his arms as his older cousin got into the driver's seat and adjusted her rear view mirror.  
  
"Yahiko."  
  
His auburn eyes glared angrily at her. "What?"  
  
A bit hurt by his rudeness, Kaoru didn't allow herself to show it. "Your seatbelt."  
  
He muttered something under his breath and pulled the belt over his chest and fastened it. Her fears put to rest, Kaoru started the car and was fortunate enough to get it up and running in one try, unlike Sano who wasn't as lucky. She pulled out of the driveway and drove onto the road that would bring her to the metropolis of Tokyo.  
  
* * * *  
  
His turquoise eyes concentrated on the bustling streets of the city. He watched the people that passed by as if they were completely different creatures that existed on another plane as he sped past them.  
  
'They're all just cattle,' he ranted in his thoughts.  
  
Just cattle...organisms that acted on impulse and desire rather than logic or good will. To him, humans were just vessels that were biding their time on this earth until they inevitably pass away. They eat when they hunger, take when they want, indulge in carnal pleasures when the feeling arises. They do this for thirty or forty some years until they pass into their old age when they live their lives as feeble and weak-minded as they were when they were first brought into this world. Humans hated being depressed, so they create a distortion of reality that they saw fit. They find something that could make them forget about how ugly and horrible the world really is. He should know: he had unwittingly done the same thing when he was a child.  
  
'Nee-san...' the thought of his wise and beautiful sister glimmered in the darkness of his tortured mind. 'As real as you were, you were my distortion. You gave me such happiness that I failed to see what reality truly was like...'  
  
His BMW convertible hugged the curve of the road as he sharply turned. The wind zipped through the wild, feathery strands of his white hair, his dark shades partially shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun. His foot slowly pressed down on the brake pedal, and he came to a complete stop at the traffic light before him.  
  
He didn't want that pain again, the pain of losing something that he held dearest to him. What was the use of feeling joy when it would one day escape from your grasp just as soon as you had it? Happiness was a living thing with a mind and intentions of its own. He had learned that it was an entity that chose to roam where it wanted, and it also had the will to leave when it felt like it.  
  
He had learned to hate happiness. In fact, he learned to despise it as if it were the most terrible atrocity that had ever existed...  
  
"YAHIKO!!!"  
  
An angered cry suddenly shattered his thoughts, and he immediately turned his head toward the commotion. However, the piercing glower in his turquoise eyes gradually softened into an engrossed stare when he saw the owner of the voice.  
  
* * * *  
  
Her delicate hands gripping on the handle of the door and her right foot propped up against the car as she leaned back on the other one, Kaoru pulled with all of her strength.  
  
"YAHIKO!!!" She screamed her cousin's name, ignoring the stares of the other children and their parents in the schoolyard. "You get out this instant!"  
  
The boy only crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at her, enraging Kaoru to the extent that she wanted to tear him apart with her own hands.  
  
"I don't have time for this!" She tried to reason, still pulling on the handle. "I need to get to class!"  
  
Yahiko's eyes stared straight ahead of him, pretending like he couldn't hear his cousin's screams. Infuriated, Kaoru released the handle and began to pound on the window with her fists.  
  
"Stop this nonsense right now!"  
  
He replied by turning on the radio, and guitar rifts and the crashing of cymbals blared within the car.  
  
"Unlock the doors!!!" She screamed, pounding harder on the surface of the window.  
  
Yahiko's fingers turned the knob to increase the volume of the music in hopes of drowning Kaoru's voice.  
  
She let out a frustrated shriek, and with renewed vigor, continued to slam her fists against the window. "Yahiko, don't do this!!!"  
  
He increased the volume as far as he could go. Seeing how attacking the car was no way to get her cousin out, Kaoru sighed. Her hands were motionless, planted on the glass surface as she leaned her forehead against the window. Startled by how suddenly quiet she had gotten, Yahiko glanced at her, the deafening music still blasting through the car.  
  
"...Yahiko..." she spoke, her bangs obscuring the sapphire blue of her eyes. "I know you can hear me."  
  
Always the defiant one, he looked away from her and pretended to be engrossed into the music.  
  
"Please stop doing this," she continued, her voice solemn and more piercing than the rock music was. "This isn't the way to handle your problems. You know that."  
  
Yahiko's stern glare faltered, but he hid it from his cousin.  
  
"Yahiko...your parents wouldn't have wanted you to act like this."  
  
His auburn eyes suddenly widened at the mention of the people who had raised him. His fingers automatically turned the dial and lowered the music from an ear-shattering roar to a dull murmur.  
  
"Your mom and dad wanted you to do your best in school," she spoke to him through the window. "They would always go on about how you were such a smart kid, and they were right. But the way you're acting now...what do you think they would say?"  
  
He bit his lip, refusing to let his cousin get to him. But to his misfortune, she already had.  
  
"Your parents wouldn't want you to do this. You should know that better than anyone else."  
  
He wanted to yell at her. He wanted to say that it was no business of hers that he wanted to miss school. From Yahiko's perspective, it was Kaoru's fault that he was in such a horrible mood in the first place. But in reality, he couldn't blame her. The fact of the matter was that she was right.  
  
"Yahiko...please get out. You'll be late."  
  
A few tense minutes passed, and as if she had spoken a magic incantation, the doors automatically unlocked. Yahiko turned off the stereo before stepping out of the car. Kaoru backed away as he did, smiling a bit at her stubborn little cousin.  
  
Yahiko said nothing as he gathered his schoolbag and baseball uniform and equipment. But before he could get to class, Kaoru stood in his way.  
  
"What now?" he snapped irritably.  
  
His older cousin did not respond with her voice. Instead, she knelt down and wrapped her arms around him in a small embrace. Yahiko immediately felt the rush of blood to his face and the heat that emanated off of his ears.  
  
However, he did nothing to push her away. He couldn't bring himself to do it.  
  
"Behave today, all right?" she softly chided him. Her blue eyes were glistened softly. "If I have to hear another complaint from one of your teachers, you'll be in for it."  
  
Yahiko was dumbstruck by how Kaoru was acting. One moment she was a snarling monster attempting to assault him by damaging her own car, and the next she was acting like a mother by the way she was hugging him and scolding at the same time.  
  
He smiled. Stupid, unpredictable Kaoru.  
  
"Fine, whatever," he replied, converting to his old bratty self. "Just let me go already!"  
  
Kaoru kept herself from grinning and released Yahiko. She stood upright and smiled warmly.  
  
"I'll pick you up after baseball practice. Stay at the stadium until I do."  
  
"I get it already! Stop treating me like a baby!"  
  
Kaoru knew that he didn't mean to sound so harsh. She assured him of this with another compassionate smile that Yahiko couldn't help but be happy to receive.  
  
Of course, being the little brat he was, he didn't show it. He just bounded toward the entrance of the school, his older cousin watching his retreating form as he went.  
  
* * * *  
  
He was bewildered by what he had just witnessed. He was too enthralled with the facial expressions and passionate gestures that the girl displayed to do anything else. It was amazing...seeing her alter from such a furious, agitated state to a soothing calm. He found it almost hard to believe that she actually pleaded the boy to come out of the vehicle by talking to him through the window. He was certain that she would tear off the door and drag him out of there.  
  
'...she's too young to be his mother...' he thought to himself as he watched her embrace the boy with the tenderness that only a woman could possess.  
  
As he was watching, he observed her with great interest. Turquoise eyes concentrated on the slim, lithe figure and examined the flowing, raven hair that fell down past her back in a high ponytail. He observed the pair of clear, sapphire eyes that seemed to come alive with emotion from a lovely, unblemished face that he could only describe as angelic.  
  
In the midst of his thoughts, the red light had altered to green without him being aware of it. An abrupt honk that sounded from behind shattered his thinking, and he threw a fatal glare at his oppressor. The driver behind him must've been too frightened by the intimidating turquoise eyes to do much else.  
  
His eyes left the other driver and traveled back to the girl. To his surprise, the sapphire eyes were staring in astonishment in his direction. He quickly came to the realization that she had spotted him.  
  
Everything came to a stop, the whole world slipping into oblivion. She was the only thing in his line of vision, her long bangs swaying above her soulful eyes from an unseen wind.  
  
He was unaware of where he was at that moment. He only knew that she was standing there gazing at him with a look of confusion that he somehow found to be adorable. He felt the warm blood pulsing throughout his veins as his heart suddenly began to beat at an irregular pace. A cold sweat was forming on his brow, his throat dry and parched as if he had been wandering aimlessly in an arid wasteland. She was a stranger to him...yet she seemed so achingly familiar...  
  
Not wasting anytime, his foot slammed on the accelerator and he sped off. He abandoned the traffic that he was causing, the schoolyard full of students, but most importantly he abandoned her. He had to leave; he feared what would've happened if he had stayed any longer as that girl kept staring at him with the depths of those crystal blue eyes...  
  
He raced down the city streets, her image still fresh in his mind. The sun-drenched buildings of Tokyo returned as he drove, but everything was a blur to him. His heart had failed to return beating at a regular pace, and there was a fluttering sensation in his stomach. Knowing that, his foot pressed harder on the accelerator, increasing his speed dramatically. Of all the people in the world, Yukishiro Enishi couldn't believe that he was running away from a girl that he didn't even know.  
  
Life is just so utterly ironic.  
  
* * * *  
  
My first AU Rurouni Kenshin fanfic. I'm sorry if it's a bit boring, but it will get better. Promise!  
  
I might be changing a few people's ages in the future, so sorry if I confuse you. I really hope that you liked my story ^_^  
  
Cherry Whisper 


	2. Job Troubles

Torn  
  
Chapter Two: Job Troubles  
  
"Hey, what does it take to get another drink around here?!"  
  
"I'll be right there, sir!" Kaoru shouted behind her, balancing a tray full of empty beer mugs against her hip while holding an empty pitcher in her free hand. Her hair was beginning to come out of place in the bun that she kept it in, raven strands sticking out above her head. She blew a few bangs out of her blue eyes and made her way to the bar, where the stools were filled with drunk, middle-aged men and perverse college boys.  
  
It was without a doubt another busy night at the Akabeko.  
  
Rambunctious chatter and dirty jokes filled her ears as she made her way to the bar, where her manager Tae Sekihara was refilling drinks and taking orders at the same time at the speed of light.  
  
"Excuse me, Tae," she shouted above all the noise. "I need to get some more drinks!"  
  
The older woman nodded and without acknowledging the college girl moved out of the way. Kaoru quickly grabbed some more glass mugs and refilled her pitcher and placed them on her tray. Wasting no time, she maneuvered around the customers and distributed the drinks onto the tables where the guests were impatiently waiting.  
  
"About damn time..." one of them muttered, earning an irritated glare from Kaoru. She hastily left before she would've done something that she would regret and busied herself taking more orders for food and drinks.  
  
Usually, Kaoru was able to deal with these hectic nights at the Akabeko. She would tell herself that college tuition, groceries, and bills weren't going to pay themselves. She would think of her house and Yahiko, and she would instantly wipe away all of her doubts. Besides, Sano, despite his tendencies to gamble, was working day and night as a construction worker to pay the family's expenses. Kaoru reminded herself that she was doing her part to help.  
  
However, her good intentions were not enough to stop her from ensuing the chaos that happened that night...  
  
"Hey cutie!" She heard a husky voice drunkenly call out. She whirled around to see a wasted customer beckoning to one of the waitresses. Kaoru remembered that she was a sophomore in college and that Tae had recently hired her.  
  
'She looks so frightened...' She thought sympathetically, sapphire eyes observing the timid nature of the waitress.  
  
Sympathy was then replaced by anger when she saw the customer snake an arm around the woman's waist.  
  
"So how 'bout it?" Kaoru caught the wriggling of the waitress' nose from his breath, heavy with alcohol. "Why don't you and me go somewhere a little more private?"  
  
The woman smiled uneasily and tried to push herself away. "Um, sorry. I'm really busy and I already have a boyfriend—"  
  
"Aw c'mon...we can really have some fun..." he insisted, his arm wrapping tighter around the waitress's waist. The other men at the table were enthusiastically cheering the customer on, increasing Kaoru's revulsion.  
  
"Sorry, I just can't!" The waitress stated more assertively, but the fear on her face was still present.  
  
The stupid grin on the man's face distorted to an annoyed frown, and his arm gripped tighter around the waitress, causing her to let out a little squeal of pain.  
  
"Why are you playing so hard to get?" He asked her, his voice escalating. "You think you're too good for me?"  
  
"Please sir, let go of me..." The waitress pleaded. Her eyes were on the verge of tears.  
  
The customer did no such thing. He grabbed her by her arms, his hands like vice grips on each one. The woman was struggling to escape, fresh bruises forming from the force of the man's unyielding grip.  
  
"Let me go!" She cried frantically, her voice ignored by the drunken mass.  
  
The man grinned sadistically and one of his hands roamed the area of her back, lowering itself inch by inch...  
  
Out of nowhere, a tray slammed against the man's face and sent him flying backwards into the table behind him with a loud crash. His friends watched in shock as their beverages spilled onto the fallen customer, their table broken in half from the impact of his body. Their wide eyes then traveled to his attacker, which happened to be a furious young girl with a tray clutched tightly in her little hands.  
  
The man sat up from the splintered wood and rubbed his face with his hands. Blood was running from his nostrils, and his bottom lip was split from the assault. He caught sight of the girl and his eyes glared dangerously at her.  
  
"You little bitch!" His voice boomed, slowly rising to his feet.  
  
"You deserved it you disgusting pig!" Kaoru cried defiantly, the other waitress standing behind her in surprise.  
  
"What did you call me?!" He roared, stumbling on his feet in his drunken state.  
  
"And you!" Kaoru addressed his friends. "You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Allowing him to do that to a helpless person!"  
  
"Hey, he was just having fun," one of them lamely replied in an attempt to defend his friend.  
  
"Oh, and I suppose it's 'fun' whenever someone gets hurt?!" She accused them.  
  
"It's none of your damn business!" The customer yelled, wiping off the blood from his face with his sleeve of his business suit.  
  
Kaoru paid no more attention to him or his accomplices. Feeling that she had already wasted enough time on them, she turned back to the shocked waitress.  
  
"Are you okay?" She asked in concern, her anger slowly leaving her.  
  
The waitress didn't even nod; her hand just nursed the red bruises on her arm.  
  
Satisfied with her silence, Kaoru took her gently by the arm and began to pull her away from the mess, her tray tucked against her side. "Come on, there's some ice in the kitchen—"  
  
A masculine hand reached from behind her and gripped Kaoru's thick hair. Sapphire eyes widened in pain, the tray she was carrying falling out of her grasp and onto the floor. Her other hand released the waitress' arm as her whole body was pulled backwards.  
  
"I'm not finished with you yet, little girl!" The customer shouted, his intoxicated voice cutting through the noisy atmosphere in the bar.  
  
Her eyes narrowed and she turned around, smashing her fist into the man's homely face. The customer flew back, involuntarily letting go of the girl's hair. He landed in the remains of the broken table, now the proud owner of a nearly fractured jaw in addition to a bleeding nose.  
  
All conversation and laughter in the restaurant was silenced. Curious and bewildered eyes concentrated on the badly injured man, and then to the young waitress that attacked him. Kaoru stood over her victim and his friends that cowered beside him, the adrenaline slowly disappearing from her veins.  
  
A strong hand placed itself on her small shoulder, causing her to spin around with her fists clenched. To her surprise, the unusually serious brown eyes of her older brother greeted her. Behind him were uniformed policeman, handcuffs and pistols hanging from their belts. Speechless, her hands fell limply against her sides.  
  
"S-Sano?"  
  
"Tae called me, and I came as soon as I got her message," his eyes softened a bit at the sight of his sister. Her hair had fallen in a messy heap from the tight bun she wore it in. Her white tank top and black skirt were wrinkled, and her apron was stained with alcohol and blood.  
  
"Damn, you're a mess."  
  
She smiled, comforted that her brother wasn't angry with her for what she had done. Well, at least not yet.  
  
"Miss, we want to ask you a few questions," the stern voice of an officer caught her attention.  
  
She looked at him and reluctantly nodded.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
The shy voice of the other waitress called out. Kaoru stared at her, eyeing pitifully at the bruises on both of her arms.  
  
"She didn't do anything wrong," the waitress explained. "She was just trying to help me..."  
  
The officer hesitated a bit, but the seriousness in his face returned. "Nonetheless, I still need to question her. The same goes for you, too."  
  
The waitress squirmed underneath the graveness in his voice, but nodded. Kaoru's eyes left her and went to the businessman. He was being carried away in handcuffs by two other policemen, while at the same time his friends were undergoing an interrogation.  
  
She suddenly had the feeling that she was going to need to look for another job.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Kaoru!"  
  
Her sapphire eyes were welcomed by a frantic Yahiko. He nearly sprinted to her after she closed the door to Sano's ancient car.  
  
"Yahiko, what are you doing up?" She asked. "You're supposed to be in bed."  
  
"Why are you home so late...?" His voice trailed off as his auburn eyes scanned the untidy state of Kaoru's hair and clothes. "What happened to you?"  
  
"A guy was causing some trouble at the Akabeko," Sano answered for her. "Now let's go in, I'm starving—"  
  
"A guy?!" Yahiko ignored Sano and focused on his other cousin, now noticing the drops of blood that stained her uniform. "What did he do?! Did he hurt you?!"  
  
"No, no," Kaoru tried to reassure her cousin. "He was bothering a new waitress and getting a little too close for her comfort. So I stepped in."  
  
"Tch, I'll say," Sano chimed in. "You practically knocked every tooth out of his mouth."  
  
For some diabolical reason, Kaoru felt proud of Sano's comment.  
  
"So...he didn't do anything to you?" The boy repeated, worried. "'cause I'll go other there and kick his ass if he did—"  
  
"He's nothing that the police can't handle, and I'm fine," Kaoru insisted, deciding not to mention that the man had pulled her hair, or Yahiko would keep true to his threat.  
  
"Well...still, you should've called me!" Yahiko exclaimed, turning away from both of his cousins. "Or you could've at least left me something better to eat than that crap you left in the fridge."  
  
Her temper returning, Kaoru gritted her teeth. "Why don't you try cooking for yourself, then?!"  
  
Sano grinned as his little sister and cousin engaged in another argument. For someone who lost her job and was interrogated by the police in the same night, Kaoru wasn't one to let it get to her.  
  
* * * *  
  
"You were fired?!"  
  
Kaoru winced at the question. "Not exactly. But I guess that doesn't change the fact that I'm unemployed now, does it?"  
  
Megumi Takani sighed, examining the bridge of Kaoru's knuckles. "You wouldn't be unemployed if you hadn't assaulted that man—"  
  
"He assaulted that waitress first!" Kaoru argued.  
  
The doctor took a look at the college girl's palm. "Still, you shouldn't have gotten involved like that. It isn't very ladylike to hit someone with a serving tray and break their jaw afterwards."  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Are you listening to me? I had a good reason!"  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Megumi continued to question her. "How is it that that businessman isn't suing you?"  
  
"The waitress that I stuck up for told the police everything, and the few customers that weren't drunk that night said that I was protecting myself when he grabbed my hair."  
  
"But then why were you fired?"  
  
"I told you, I wasn't exactly fired. I kind of quit because I didn't want to give the Akabeko a bad image. It wouldn't be good for business, and it wouldn't be fair to Tae either."  
  
Megumi let go of Kaoru's hand. "It's fine."  
  
The girl tucked back a lock of raven behind her ear. "Of course it's fine. You and Sano worry way too much, you know?"  
  
Megumi's mature face remained somber. "Seriously Kaoru, you should be more careful. Don't be meddling with other people's affairs. You might get injured."  
  
A smile lit up her features. "See what I mean? You worry too much. I'm eighteen, remember? I could take care of myself."  
  
Seeing how it was hopeless, the doctor threw her hands up in defeat. "I've done all I can. So, do you plan to get another job?"  
  
Kaoru crossed her arms in deep thought. "Yeah, but I don't know how I'm going to get one. It's really hard to get hired nowadays."  
  
The girl really had given a lot of thought to her dire situation. She needed a job, and she needed it fast. How else would she be able to keep up with the bills and her tuition fees?  
  
"Well, if you're through dealing with drunken men and serving alcohol, I might have a job for you."  
  
A light of hope danced in Kaoru's sapphire eyes. "Really?"  
  
Megumi nodded. "Not at the clinic, though. About a week ago, a former colleague of mine said that he needed another secretary."  
  
'Another...?' Kaoru asked herself, but she was still eager at the possibility of being employed again. "What does he do?"  
  
The doctor took out some files and began to organize them. "He's a psychologist. He told me that he needed another secretary because his last one recently quit."  
  
Megumi's comment didn't dampen her enthusiasm. "Do you think he still needs one?"  
  
"I don't know. But I'd be happy to give him a call for you and try to schedule an interview if he does—"  
  
Megumi was cut off with a lung-crushing hug from the younger woman. "Thank you so much!"  
  
She tried to pry her arms off of her. "Calm down, Kaoru! You're not hired yet."  
  
She pulled back and sheepishly smiled. "O-oh yeah...so, can you call me after you talk to him?"  
  
* * * *  
  
"This is a disgrace," Enishi growled, throwing the newspaper against the marble surface of his desk. Plastered on the front page was a black and white picture of a man in a sloppy business suit being led in handcuffs to a police car.  
  
"I-I know, Yukishiro-sama," the pitiful man replied. However, his regrets did nothing to calm his employer's anger.  
  
"Not only did you grope a waitress, but you had to attack another one by pulling her by the hair like some sort of barbarian. And in public, might I add."  
  
"Y-yes, but she attacked me first—"  
  
"That doesn't matter!" Enishi interjected coldly, his voice laden with disgust. "The point is that you've dishonored the name of my corporation! Thanks to you, the business world undoubtedly sees us as a bunch of pathetic fools who do nothing but drink ourselves to a stupor and molest women in our free time!"  
  
The man said nothing. He was much too paralyzed with fear to do or say anything that might worsen his boss's temper. Yukishiro Enishi was a man whose name struck fear into the hearts of the bravest souls. Everyone who worked for him knew it.  
  
"You truly make me sick," he stated, turning away from the sniveling man so that the back of his leather office chair. "It doesn't matter to me whether or not you disgrace your own name. But bringing shame to my corporation, my family's hard work, is an entirely different affair."  
  
The office was silent, save the soft hum of the high-tech computer on Enishi's desk. The man was contemplating what he could say that would put him in his employer's favor, until the indifferent voice sounded.  
  
"You're fired," he said evenly. "I want you to clear your desk and be out of my building in the next hour."  
  
The man gulped, and was about to say something until Enishi interrupted.  
  
"If you are not out by then, I will remove you myself."  
  
And with that, the man stumbled to the exit and shut the door behind him, not wanting to spend another minute in that office.  
  
"Maggot," Enishi scoffed, taking the newspaper into his hands. He scanned the report over again, each word like a slap to the face to him. However, he knew that something else would happen that would shift the public's attention away from his corporation. There was always some other story that the media would waste no time into devouring like the ravenous sharks they were.  
  
The cold orbs of his eyes suddenly latched onto the paper. Somewhere towards the end of the page was a smaller picture. Within it, he saw a girl accompanied with a taller man walking out of the same place that his former employee had been arrested. Although the picture was printed in morose and sullen ink, her eyes seemed to glow from that lovely face of hers.  
  
'I...know her...'  
  
His mind retreated to that cloudless day where he had been waiting at an intersection. He remembered the vivacious voice breaking the peace of the spring day, calling out a name that he could vaguely recall. In his annoyance, he stared in the direction of the voice and after that, he was stunned.  
  
She had been there. Her ivory hands tightened into fists and slammed against the car window. Her silken hair was flying around her as she was trying to get her young passenger out of the vehicle. He had studied every motion of her slender body, every word that her pink lips had formed.  
  
That girl had caused his whole world to stop that day, and he was so frightened that he sped off into the city to get away from her.  
  
And yet, even in the security of his office, she managed to haunt him nonetheless...  
  
Frustrated, he threw the paper into the wastebasket he positioned next to his desk. He stood up and paced, a habit of his since he was young whenever he was nervous. He yanked at his white hair, his glasses falling astray from the bridge of his nose.  
  
After twenty minutes of this, he sat back down into his chair. His turquoise eyes tried to concentrate on the stack of papers that required his signature. His restlessness soon tired of this, and he began to type a business report on his computer. His fingers struck the countless keys, but his mind didn't register exactly what he was typing. A few more minutes was all it took for him to turn away from the machine. His eyes then roamed back to the thick newspaper lying noiselessly in the trash. His hand hesitated, but then retrieved it back. He unfolded it and scanned over the text again.  
  
'Kamiya Kaoru...' he meditated in his mind. For some reason, the name had sounded so familiar. But the fact that he could not fully remember it wracked his head with aggravation.  
  
So, he did the next best thing. He grabbed a pair of scissors and cut out her picture, disposing of the newspaper afterward.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kaoru got out of her car and walked out of the parking lot. Her attire was slightly different today. Her hair was worn in the usual high ponytail, but her clothes were slightly altered. Against Megumi's judgment, she wore black dress pants and a plain, long-sleeved blouse. Kaoru was never comfortable in business suits, so she wanted to dress comfortably but as professionally as possible for the interview.  
  
"So, this is where he works..." She said in awe, staring at the sheer height of the tall building before her.  
  
She nervously bit her lip and ascended the stairs, her knees shaking slightly. Kaoru couldn't lie to herself that she wasn't uneasy; this was her first official interview in three years. Before she worked at the Akabeko, Kaoru would make money by working in a grocery store. When she graduated from high school, Tae immediately allowed her to work at her restaurant after Sano talked to her. The woman was an old friend of her parents, so when they passed away, she was always offering to help the children out with their expenses.  
  
Of course, being Kamiyas, Sano and his sister couldn't accept her money. Instead, Tae hired Kaoru as a waitress so that she would be able to get a decent paycheck.  
  
Kaoru stepped into the elevator and shifted a bit when it began to ascend. Her sapphire eyes watched as the floor numbers began to light up one by one as she passed them by. She made sure that her hair was in place and that her outfit was tidy. The elevator stopped suddenly and the metal doors opened automatically. Kaoru stepped onto the white tile of the polished floor, mesmerized by how spacious the area was. Couches were arranged in an orderly fashion on front of a large desk. Sunlight poured in from the large windowpanes, but other than that, the room looked quite plain and dreary. Swallowing back her anxiety, Kaoru's heels clicked on the floor as she approached a door. On its wooden surface was a black sign in which a name was engraved on.  
  
The white letters spelled Shinomori Aoshi, Ph.D.  
  
'This is his office, like Megumi said...' Kaoru nervously checked her watch. 'I'm a little early. I hope that he's here.'  
  
Kaoru knocked on the door gently. After a few seconds, a deep voice beckoned her to come in. Figuring that she had no choice but to obey, she opened the door and stepped into the office.  
  
A man clad in an expensive gray suit and black tie was there to meet her. His black hair was parted from his cold blue-grey eyes, his posture upright against his chair. Kaoru was surprised by how young he looked, but at the same time she was a bit tense under his scrutinizing glare.  
  
"Miss Kamiya, I presume?"  
  
She bowed politely. "Yes. I'm the—"  
  
"Girl that Megumi has told me about. I know."  
  
She was a bit offended by his straightforwardness, but she suddenly had the feeling that Aoshi wasn't one for formal introductions.  
  
His hand gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat."  
  
She sat herself in the chair and quickly examined his room. The blinds over the windows were closed, refusing the light of the afternoon sun. Beside the oak desk, a leather sofa was placed against one wall while another chair was arranged in the center. An expensive portrait of a rather gothic nature hung on another wall, and a bookshelf stood alone in one corner.  
  
To Kaoru, the room looked more like a funeral home than a psychologist's office.  
  
"So, Megumi has informed me that you are in need of a job. May I ask why?"  
  
Kaoru found the confidence to make eye contact with him. "I quit my last one."  
  
"Where did you used to work, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
"I was a waitress at the Akabeko restaurant and bar."  
  
His expression remained blank. "Why did you quit?"  
  
She paused, but then decided she might as well be honest. "I didn't want to cause any trouble for my manager."  
  
"After what happened last night, it seemed you did exactly that."  
  
A hint of surprise crossed her features. Aoshi had known.  
  
"A college student of eighteen years old beating up a businessman of one of the most thriving companies in Tokyo," the psychologist mused. "I found that quite hard to believe that a young woman would go to such violent measures."  
  
Kaoru felt her cheeks grow hot. "I didn't want to, but he left me no choice, Shinomori-sama."  
  
"You couldn't simply ask him to leave the waitress alone?"  
  
"She was begging him to stop," Kaoru insisted. "She was almost crying, but he still didn't listen. I wouldn't have been able to persuade him if she wasn't able to, and I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."  
  
"So you attacked him with a serving tray and punched him in the jaw? That isn't any way to treat a respected businessman."  
  
Kaoru suddenly felt that she was arguing with Megumi all over again. "I don't mean to sound cruel, but that man didn't deserve any respect. He treated that woman horribly."  
  
Aoshi studied her, quite surprised at her nerve. Usually, only a few people were able to look him in the eye like the girl was doing now. "You are not sorry for your actions?"  
  
She wanted to bite her tongue, but her pride didn't allow it. Kaoru didn't care if her answer would cost her this job. It wasn't worth lying for. "No, I'm not."  
  
Silence pervaded through the cool, ventilated air of the office. It was so difficult to read Aoshi's face. His eyes didn't express approval or disapproval. They were concentrated on her only.  
  
Kaoru was sure that she had lost the opportunity of being employed again.  
  
"Tell me, Miss Kamiya," he said suddenly. "Do you have any family?"  
  
A bit thrown off guard by the question, Kaoru regained her confidence. "Yes. I have an older brother, and our younger cousin lives with us in our house."  
  
"What about your parents?"  
  
Her sapphire eyes looked down from his face, hiding underneath her bangs. "They passed away."  
  
Another moment of silence passed, neither the college girl nor the psychologist exchanging a word. Kaoru was a bit confused about why Aoshi suddenly questioned her about her family. She didn't know what Sano or Yahiko had to do with her interview.  
  
"I am aware that you are a college student. What time do you get out of your last class?"  
  
Startled, she quickly answered, "At 2:30."  
  
"If you can make it to this building before three o' clock, then I can hire you as a secretary."  
  
Her heart was swelling with joy, but then her doubt returned. "But what about mornings?"  
  
"It's nothing to worry about. Most of my patients can only attend appointments in the late afternoon or evening."  
  
Kaoru's face was evident of her puzzlement.  
  
"I guess Megumi didn't tell you. Most of my patients are adolescents."  
  
The realization dawned on her. "So you help teenagers then?"  
  
He grimaced for a second. "If you can call it 'helping'."  
  
Before she could even respond to his last comment, Aoshi stood up from his chair. "You will be here from three to eight o'clock every weekday and three to seven on Saturday after your classes."  
  
"Do you have any dress requirements?" Kaoru asked out of curiosity.  
  
"I only require that you dress professionally. No casual clothing whatsoever."  
  
A grateful smile beamed on Kaoru's lips. "I'll do just that. Thank you, Shinomori-sama."  
  
She bowed and was about to leave the sunlight-deprived office, until she stopped at the door.  
  
"Shinomri-sama?"  
  
Aoshi's blue-grey eyes focused on her once more. "What is it?"  
  
"Is it okay if I decorate the waiting room outside? It's kind of dull."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Wow...sorry if it was a bit long there, but I do want to develop the plot and the characters. Thanks for all the reviews for the first chapter: I'm really happy! Hope you enjoyed this one as well. 


	3. New Faces

Torn  
  
Chapter Three: New Faces  
  
"When will you come home?"  
  
"Sometime after eight. Dinner's already in the fridge. All you and Sano have to do is heat it up."  
  
Large auburn eyes looked at her. "But what if something happens again?"  
  
She laughed in good humor, adding to Yahiko's irritation.  
  
"I'm serious!" he asserted. "Some guy might barge in out of nowhere, and it might be too late for Rooster-head or me to save you this time!"  
  
Kaoru took her cousin gently by the shoulders. "Yahiko, it's an office. No one is going to ride the elevator twenty-two stories up just to hassle a secretary. Plus, I won't be alone. Dr. Shinomori will be there."  
  
The boy scoffed. "Yeah, like some psychologist can stop a criminal. What's he gonna do? Make him look at a bunch of ink blots and ask him about his childhood?"  
  
"Yahiko, I'll be okay," she tried to assure him, but caught the doubt on his face. "Fine, I'll call home around six. If I don't call, then you and Sano can come to my rescue. Deal?"  
  
He looked at her uneasily, but the fear in his eyes began to disappear. "You better call!" He walked away, his baseball bat in hand and his duffel bag in the other.  
  
"I will," she called after him.  
  
Walking at a steady pace, Yahiko took one last look at his cousin who was waving good-bye.  
  
"Hey, Myoujin," a voice acknowledged him. Yahiko turned his head and found two of his male classmates walking at either side of him. "Is that your sister?"  
  
"No," he answered, curious as to why he was being questioned by two boys that he hardly ever talked to. "She's my cousin."  
  
"Is she in high school?" The other one asked from his right side.  
  
Raising a brow, he shook his head. "No. She's in college."  
  
"She's really pretty."  
  
Gripping the handle of his bat a bit tighter, Yahiko frowned. "You need to get your eyes checked!"  
  
"I dunno. I think she's kinda hot," the boy on his left said, glancing at the older girl as she got into her car.  
  
"Quit looking at her!" He shouted.  
  
"Does she have a boyfriend?"  
  
His grip constricted on the baseball bat. "She's too loud and ugly to have one."  
  
"Then I'm gonna ask her out," the classmate on his left said.  
  
Yahiko stopped in his tracks, teeth bared. "No, you won't!"  
  
The two boys stopped as well, amused at how obvious their peer's anger was. "Why not, Myoujin?"  
  
"She's not interested in dorks like you," he seethed.  
  
One of them sneered. "I'm gonna ask her out to a movie on Sunday. What are you gonna do if she says 'yes'?"  
  
Auburn eyes burned into the taunting boy. "She won't."  
  
"Then I'll keep asking her until she does."  
  
"I won't let you."  
  
They both laughed mockingly, ignoring the creaking of the wooden bat as it was suffocating in Yahiko's hand.  
  
"What're you gonna do, Myoujin? You can't stop us."  
  
That was enough to provoke him. Bat raised high, Yahiko let out all his fury in a shrill yell and charged at his classmates. The boys didn't waste a second and fled, screaming for their lives as their peer chased them. They ran off into the sanctuary of the school, an infuriated Yahiko trailing after them.  
  
None of them noticed the white-haired man that had driven pass.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Is this all, Miss?"  
  
Kaoru nodded as the florist took the bouquet of white and yellow lilies from her. She had picked them for their subtle beauty because she had felt that they were just what she needed to lighten the décor of Aoshi's waiting room. As the florist was busy at the cashier, sapphire eyes scanned the shop. It had been so long since she had stepped into a floral shop. Blooming faces and full petals greeted her, and several unique scents intermingling with each other drowned her senses.  
  
A collection of deep scarlet roses stared at her from its stand. Blue eyes observed the budding faces as they were bunched up all together.  
  
'Okkasan's favorite...'  
  
Memories of her mother arranging the crimson flowers played in her mind. As a little girl, she would watch her delicately taking each one by its long stem and placing them in the depths of a porcelain vase.  
  
Her mother was so graceful, so ladylike. Kaoru remembered that she would try and help her arrange the flowers, but the thorns would always cut into her soft flesh. She had lacked the elegance of her mother's movements, so she was unable to care for the flowers like her mother did. Perhaps they didn't prick her because she was as beautiful as them.  
  
"Here you go," the florist took her from her thoughts. Smiling embarrassedly, Kaoru received the bouquet and paid.  
  
"Thank you," she said, and turned on her heel. She was about to leave, but the roses were calling to her. Kaoru bit her lip, the flowers tempting her with memories of happier days that she had kept close to her heart.  
  
'It's been so long since I've visited them...'  
  
Kaoru checked her watch. It was forty minutes past two. She had to get to the office before three.  
  
Being late to work on her first day would definitely not make a good impression on Aoshi, so she couldn't risk it. There were still a few things that she needed to pick up before she went to the office.  
  
She would just have to visit them some other time.  
  
Sighing, Kaoru left the flower shop with the bouquet of lilies in her hand.  
  
* * * *  
  
She smiled to herself, wiping her forehead. "There! Now this place doesn't look as depressing."  
  
Kaoru beamed at her work. The surface of her clean desk shone in the light of the lamps that hung from the ceiling. The white and yellow lilies stood beautifully in a ceramic blue vase that Kaoru had found in her attic. A framed picture of Sano, Yahiko, and herself at a festival was placed next to the computer that Aoshi had provided her with. A small bowl of candy also graced the desk. She would need her sugar rush as badly as any of the Aoshi's adolescent patients would.  
  
In addition to the modifications of her desk, Kaoru did a little work on the waiting room. Since she knew that sitting for a long while would grate the nerves of usually restless teenagers, she found some more things at home that might keep them slightly entertained. Kaoru brought in some of her old books that she had used to read as a teenager so that the patients could occupy themselves with them. She also went out and bought various magazines that were popular among teenagers and set them out.  
  
To liven up the atmosphere, Kaoru brought in old paintings that were gathering dust in the attic. She hung them on some of the walls, including the one behind her desk. Most of them were paintings of calm landscapes and flowers, but she still thought that they had given the surroundings a more relaxed feel to them.  
  
The door to Aoshi's office creaked open, and the psychologist stepped into the waiting room, carrying folders in his hand. His blue-gray eyes scanned the environment, a bit shocked at how much it had changed. With only a few simple alterations from his new secretary, it didn't look like a waiting room.  
  
It looked more like a home.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" Kaoru asked, smiling proudly.  
  
Aoshi's stoic expression remained. "I can see that you weren't kidding when you asked if you could decorate the waiting room."  
  
Her happiness was still evident on her lovely face. "I figured that I would be spending a lot of time here, so I wanted to bring in a few things that reminded me of my home."  
  
His eyes caught the bowl of candy. "And those?"  
  
Kaoru realized that he was referring to the sweets. "Oh, I just bought those in case your patients wanted something to snack on while they waited."  
  
"You do know that I'm a psychologist who deals with teenagers, right?"  
  
She nodded, a bit confused at the stern tone of Aoshi's voice. "Yeah, but they might get hungry." She took the dish in her hands and offered it to her boss. "Come on, take one. They're really good!"  
  
Aoshi shook his head, letting out a small chuckle, something he rarely did. "Just how old are you, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
Kaoru was oblivious to his sarcasm as she stripped off the wrapper of a cherry-flavored lollipop. "Eighteen. Why?"  
  
"Because you act like you're five."  
  
She grinned. "Megumi says the same thing to me. But hey, you're never too old to enjoy candy!"  
  
The psychologist said nothing, putting the folders on her desk. "Don't make a mess here. Here's some paperwork that I want you to organize for me. There's a copy of today's appointments. Have the patients sign in when they come."  
  
He then turned away, saying nothing more as he returned to the solitude of his office.  
  
She was different. The cheerfulness in her voice was quite refreshing. Aoshi's past secretaries were never like Kaoru. They had all been middle-aged hags in conservative dress suits who disliked him as much as they disliked the patients who came to see him.  
  
This girl was nothing like them, preferring dress pants and high ponytails instead of constricting buns and skirts. Instead of a strict frown, her face was animated with a smile. This one was different, and he knew it.  
  
Things were bound to get very interesting around here.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kaoru propped her chin on the palm of her hand, looking over the fine print of the documents before her. The rustling of papers and the soft hum of her computer screen were the only things her ears had heard. It was already fifteen minutes after four, and Dr. Shinomori was already attending to a patient inside of his office. Only two other teenagers and their parents were waiting in the room as Kaoru was organizing the files Aoshi had given her earlier.  
  
She had only been here a bit more than an hour, but Kaoru liked it here. There were no drunken businessmen or college boys to make passes at her or bug her for more drinks, and the room was free of the pungent smells of alcohol and cigarette smoke. It was nice and quiet here, and she enjoyed this serenity immensely.  
  
But she couldn't deny that she was a little bored.  
  
Just then, she heard the parting of the elevator doors. Curious by nature, sapphire eyes lifted from the documents to the elevator. But as soon as they opened, the doors closed. She didn't see another disgruntled teenager with their accompanying parent. There was no one.  
  
'Maybe the elevator's malfunctioning,' she rationalized as her slender fingers sifted through more documents.  
  
"Hiya!!!" A merry voice sounding behind her, causing her to drop the documents onto the floor.  
  
Kaoru whirled around to meet the vibrant blue-green eyes of a teenage girl. Black strands of hair were strewn around her face, and a long braid dangled stylishly against her back.  
  
"Omigosh!" she cried, attracting the attention of the waiting patients. "I'm SO sorry!"  
  
Falling to her knees, she gathered up all of the files that Kaoru unintentionally dropped. In her frantic state, the strange girl had mixed up the documents and put them all out of order. Kaoru was too shocked to care as she took back the files from the energetic teenager.  
  
"Um...are you a patient?"  
  
The girl laughed goodheartedly and shook her head. "Nope!" She took Kaoru's hands into hers, her eyes studying the young woman's face. "Are you really her?"  
  
Quirking an eyebrow, Kaoru stared at her in confusion. "Am I who?"  
  
The inquisitive spark in her eyes didn't fade. "Are you really, really her? Are you Kamiya Kaoru?"  
  
Kaoru hesitated, but she nodded. She almost wished she hadn't when the room was suddenly filled with an overjoyed cry from the girl as she jumped into the air.  
  
"I can't believe it's really you!" she exclaimed, grabbing Kaoru's hands and spinning her around in a happy dance. "Aoshi-sama wasn't kidding! It's you, it's really, really you!"  
  
A bit embarrassed, Kaoru took a step back. "Do I know you?"  
  
The girl grinned. "No, but I know you! You were the only girl on the Watsuki High School kendo team! You won every tournament against every school in the regional area!"  
  
Kaoru felt her cheeks getting redder and redder by the second.  
  
"You're Kamiya Kaoru, the Rose of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu!"  
  
Surprised by how much information was bubbling from her unexpected guest, she smiled shyly. "You seem to know quite a bit about me."  
  
She nodded, her braid bobbing up and down. "Of course! You're a legend at my high school!"  
  
Kaoru took this moment to notice the familiar blue pleated skirt and red scarf tied over the white shirt. She had worn it for three years when she was a student.  
  
"So you attend Watsuki High?"  
  
"Uh-huh! I'm a freshman there!" her hand shot out before Kaoru. "Name's Misao Makimachi!"  
  
Kaoru took her hand in a friendly handshake. "Nice to meet you. I guess there's no point in telling you my name, is there?"  
  
Misao laughed. "Guess not! But seriously, they still talk about you at my high school. The administration has your trophies and your picture on display in the main lobby."  
  
She blushed. "I really didn't do anything..."  
  
"Are you kidding me?!" Misao cried as if Kaoru had uttered a profanity. "You single-handedly beat every opponent that was thrown at you! You were practically the entire kendo team!"  
  
Her face grew warmer. "I wouldn't say that. There were other guys on the team..."  
  
Misao's grin grew wider. "Man, they didn't say anything about you being so modest, Kaoru-san."  
  
Before Kaoru had the chance to answer, Aoshi stepped out of his office with his patient.  
  
"Remember you have another appointment next Tuesday," he instructed the teenager.  
  
The young man nodded and walked over to where the people were waiting. A middle-aged woman stood from her seat and escorted the boy to the elevator, and both disappeared with the automatic closing of the mechanical doors. Aoshi then directed his attention to the bubbly high school student, a disapproving frown on his features.  
  
"Misao, this is a waiting room. You can't come in here and make a commotion for my patients."  
  
Misao grinned sheepishly in response.  
  
Aoshi caught the perplexed look on his secretary's face. "Miss Kamiya, unless she hasn't told you already, this is Misao. When I informed her over the weekend that you were going to become my new secretary, she had to come down and see you for herself."  
  
The high school student scowled. "Aoshi-sama, that's so rude! Degrading Kaoru-san to the status of a lowly secretary!"  
  
"She works for me out of her own free will, Misao." Aoshi stated evenly.  
  
"You're still acting like an old crank!" Misao's blue-green eyes then fell upon Kaoru. "Kaoru-san, if he gives you a hard time, just use one of your techniques. That'll show him!"  
  
Kaoru couldn't help but giggle. Despite her hyperactivity, Misao was a very amusing person. "No, he'll fire me if I do that, and I really need this job."  
  
Aoshi stepped in again. "Don't you have to get home, Misao? Your grandfather is probably wondering where you are right now."  
  
Misao smiled at the psychologist. "Guess you're right. Grandpa can be a real worry-wart sometimes."  
  
The high school student bowed respectfully in front of Kaoru. "It's been really great to finally meet you, Kaoru-san!"  
  
Kaoru returned the bow. "It was nice meeting you, too. You can visit me anytime you'd like."  
  
Misao stood upright and her blue-green eyes began to sparkle. "Really?! That's so awesome...but it's really boring here..."  
  
The girl crossed her arms in deep thought, and then, as if a light bulb had flashed on in her head, clapped her hands together. "That's it! You and me can hang out somewhere! When's your next day off?"  
  
Kaoru smiled sheepishly. "The only day off I have is Sunday."  
  
Misao grimaced. "You're kidding me!" She then turned to the psychologist. "Aoshi-sama, you have Kaoru-san working like a dog!"  
  
"She agreed to it, Misao," Aoshi replied coolly. "I didn't force her."  
  
Another smile lit up the girl's features. "Oh well! I guess Kaoru-san and I have to do something on Sunday then!" she faced Kaoru, an expectant gleam in her eyes as she awaited her to respond.  
  
"How about it? Do you wanna hang out with me this Sunday?"  
  
Sano and Yahiko always told her that Kaoru was tenderhearted. She was always too stubborn to admit it, though.  
  
"Sure, that'd be fun," she replied sincerely. In all honesty, Kaoru was looking forward to getting out of her house for a reason other than college or work. It's been a long time since she had done something entertaining for a change.  
  
Misao let out another ecstatic cheer. "Great! Then you and me are gonna hit the mall this Sunday! It'll be so much fun, Kaoru-san!"  
  
Kaoru's lips formed a genuine smile. "I bet it will be."  
  
Misao leapt into the air joyously. "'kay, then I'll see you on Sunday! Don't make any plans!"  
  
She skipped to the elevator, her long braid flailing up and down as she did. "Sayonara, Kaoru-san! See ya, Aoshi-sama!"  
  
Kaoru waved to her, an expressionless Aoshi standing beside her. "Bye, Misao!"  
  
The elevator doors opened and she hopped onto the machine. With a mischievous grin and a wink, Misao was gone when the doors shut. Silence returned to the room, and the patients could now wait in peace.  
  
"Now maybe things will be quieter," he remarked.  
  
Kaoru looked at him, seeing the stern, handsome face that she was already accustomed to. "Don't be so mean, Shinomori-sama. She's just energetic is all."  
  
Ice blue eyes stared at the college girl. "You do know that you made a death wish when you agreed to go to the mall with her this Sunday, right?"  
  
She smiled, not knowing whether or not her boss was kidding. "Oh come on! She's a really nice girl."  
  
"That's not the point I'm trying to make, Miss Kamiya. After meeting her, you do realize how...disruptive Misao can be. I hope you bring along some painkillers this Sunday. By the end of the day, you won't even be able to crawl."  
  
She laughed at his statement. Aoshi wasn't exactly an emotionless man. He had the sarcastic kind of humor that Kaoru found to be funny. "I'm looking forward to this Sunday. It's been a while since I've been to the mall."  
  
Aoshi's eyes left her face, concentrating on the polished floor. "...she truly does admire you. She always has since she was in middle school."  
  
Kaoru was surprised at the last remark. She had no idea that Misao had known her that long. "Why?"  
  
"When you joined the kendo team in high school," Aoshi continued, his obsidian hair partially covering his eyes, "everyone had heard about it, even the students in the lower grades."  
  
"...I didn't know that my joining the team was such a big deal."  
  
"It was, especially to Misao. She was raised differently than most girls, and she took an interest in martial arts because of her grandfather's influence. So you can imagine how ecstatic she was when word reached her ears that a girl had joined one of the most skilled kendo teams in Tokyo."  
  
Aoshi's face lifted from the floor and stared into Kaoru's face, his eyes clouded with reminiscence. "She would always turn on the TV and watch the channel that was broadcasting the tournaments that you participated in. Misao would cheer for you, despite the fact that you wouldn't have been able to hear her. After you graduated last year, she would go on and on about how much she wanted to walk the same hallways that you walked when you attended her high school."  
  
The corners of his lips lifted into a small smile, the first one that Kaoru had ever witnessed. "So when I told her that you would be working for me as a secretary, she practically leapt ten feet into the air. I guess I should've warned you how troublesome she can be when she gets excited."  
  
Kaoru shook her head, her hair brushing against her ivory cheek. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad that I met her."  
  
Aoshi said nothing and turned onto his heel, but his secretary's voice stopped him.  
  
"Is Misao...your sister?"  
  
"No," his monotone voice replied. "She has been a friend of mine for a long time."  
  
He stepped into his office, telling Kaoru to send in his next patient.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kaoru let out a happy sigh as she walked into the peaceful, sweet- scented night. Streetlights glowed in unison at her, cars whizzing past her so all she could see were red and yellow taillights flashing in the streets.  
  
"I hope Aoshi will be okay by himself..." she spoke out loud as she walked down the steps, her sapphire eyes looking up to the building. She could imagine the psychologist gathering his things in his office and preparing to leave. It was almost depressing that he had to spend so many hours listening to teenagers' problems only to do the same thing the next day.  
  
Suddenly, she bumped into something solid. The small shock of the impact sent her a step back.  
  
"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, feeling the blush that was creeping over her face. Sano always scolded her for being inattentive while she was walking. "I should've looked where I was going."  
  
"Please, it's no trouble at all..." A smooth, masculine voice assured her.  
  
Her blue eyes lifted from the concrete steps to the person she had knocked into. Turquoise eyes stared at her from a pair of dark shades that rested on the bridge of his nose. A shock of white hair was arranged wildly from his head, a small earring glinting from his left ear. Thin lips were curled into a smirk from a young face that was almost so handsome it was devilish.  
  
Kaoru felt as if her whole face was turning red.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Alas, the first meeting! I know that it sounds kinda cliché, but I think that it's fitting. I mean, I didn't want to do something really corny like having Enishi save Kaoru from some accident involving a car or a runaway dumpster (that would remind me too much of The Wedding Planner...no offense to anyone, but that movie was horrible).  
  
Hehe, j/k! Anyway, I hope my version of Misao isn't bad. I hope I made her hyper enough. Well, I guess the next chapter will involve Enishi a bit more. Sorry if the story's going kinda slow, but I wanna develop plot, y'know?  
  
Thanks for reading in advance, and for the reviews! You guys are SO awesome! 


	4. Another Chance Meeting

Torn  
  
Chapter Four: Another Chance Meeting  
  
He watched how the blood rushed to her cheeks, coloring her face with a tint of rose. The depths of her sapphire eyes were as bright as ever from underneath her bangs. The orange and yellow of the streetlights illuminated the raven strands of her hair and her smooth skin.  
  
Seeing how she was at a loss for words, Enishi was the first to speak. "Are you all right, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
His suave voice brought her back from her daze. "I'm..." The realization struck her a few seconds later. "...how do you know my name?"  
  
He chuckled. "I happen to read the newspaper."  
  
Her cheeks reddened. How much longer was that fateful night at the Akabeko going to haunt her?  
  
"I suppose you're going to tell me how unladylike I was?" She said, a slight edge to her voice. "Or how I shouldn't have been so violent?"  
  
A slight smirk on his attractive face, Enishi shook his head. "No. I came here to apologize."  
  
He enjoyed the sight of her eyes widening in surprise and her soft lips parting soundlessly.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For the actions of my former employee."  
  
Kaoru stepped back, dumbstruck. Her knees felt like they were going to give out from underneath her and cause her to fall on her face in front of this enigmatic stranger.  
  
"...former...employee?"  
  
It took all his willpower to keep himself from laughing at how comical the college girl's reactions were. "Yes. That man whose jaw you broke used to work for my company."  
  
Kaoru felt her throat go dry as the words of the white-haired man sank into her.  
  
"I'm Yukishiro Enishi," he stated, his voice embodying the pride of the confident person that he was. "President and CEO of the Yukishiro Corporation."  
  
* * * *  
Kaoru felt like the whole world was crashing down on her. She knew that the customer worked for some sort of business because of his suit, but she had no idea which one he worked for, the reason being that she didn't care at that particular moment.  
  
But now...Kaoru would've never imagined meeting the boss of the drunken customer whom she had mercilessly smacked.  
  
Taking another look at the man before her, Kaoru noted how young he appeared to be. She thought that only stout, balding men ran massive conglomerates. This Yukishiro Enishi looked like he was in his early twenties. And in addition to that, she noticed that his snow-white hair wasn't falling out of place, and that he had a lean, well-built figure underneath that long, black trench coat of his.  
  
To put it simply, he was very handsome.  
  
Quickly gathering her senses, Kaoru cleared her throat. "It's nice to meet you, Yukishiro-sama. I'm Kamiya Kaoru."  
  
She bowed, her bangs spilling over her sapphire eyes as she did.  
  
Another low chuckle rumbled through his chest. "It's very hard to believe that a young lady as frail as you could have it in you to strike a grown man down."  
  
She stiffened at the comment. "Excuse me, but I'm not exactly 'frail'."  
  
His turquoise eyes laughed at how defensive she was being. She obviously had a lot of spirit underneath that seemingly sweet appearance of hers. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you."  
  
Her shoulders slumped and she sighed heavily. Kaoru suddenly felt guilty at how snippy she was acting. It had been her first day of work, and even though she denied it to Sano and Yahiko, she was going through a bit of stress from college. She still had an assignment or two she had to complete when she got home. "No, I'm sorry for acting so rude. I'm just very tired—"  
  
A small grumble from her stomach cut her off, and her cheeks immediately turned rosier.  
  
However, Enishi was more amused than disgusted. "And hungry, apparently."  
  
A sheepish smile graced her lovely features. "All the more reason to get home, I guess."  
  
She bowed again, suddenly making Enishi feel uneasy.  
  
"Sorry to go so soon, but I have to head home," she hastily explained, the thought of a warm bath and a comfortable bed appealing greatly to her. "Have a good night."  
  
She walked briskly away, but as soon as she went past the white- haired man, a strong hand shot out and grabbed onto her small wrist and she was forced to stop.  
  
She looked at him questioningly, but he ignored her. Instead, Enishi felt the pace of his heart quickening with each passing second. For some reason, watching her leave in such a hurry sent a shiver of panic down his spine.  
  
He finally had this chance to meet her up close. He didn't have to watch her from afar at the schoolyard he passed or look at the picture of her that he had cut from the newspaper.  
  
She was living and breathing right in front of him, ensnared by his own hand. And he didn't want her to leave. At least not yet.  
  
"Don't go," he said, the harshness of his words shocking him.  
  
She continued to gape at him, but she said nothing. Too surprised to do much of anything, Kaoru remained where she was.  
  
Catching himself, Enishi reluctantly released her wrist. "It's just that I would like to treat you to dinner. It's the least I can do to make up for my former employee's brutish actions."  
  
A blush darkened her ivory cheeks. It wasn't everyday that a handsome stranger offered to take her out to dinner. In fact, Kaoru couldn't recall a time that she was offered a free meal by anyone of the opposite sex. Sano's reputation among other reasons kept her anti-social when it came to dating in high school.  
  
"No, I can't let you do that," she hastily replied. "What happened at my old job wasn't your fault to begin with. So you—"  
  
"I insist," he interjected. "What he did was disgraceful, to himself and to my company."  
  
Kaoru smiled awkwardly and put her hands up in protest. "I'm not going to blame your company because of one man's actions—"  
  
"But it's unforgivable that he did not even apologize for what he did to you," Enishi persisted. "Please Miss Kamiya, let me buy dinner for you."  
  
Feeling like this man wasn't likely to take 'no' for an answer, Kaoru did her best to politely resist. "I'm sorry, but my brother and my cousin are waiting for me to get home," she explained, the image of an exhausted Sano keeping a nerve-wracked Yahiko from running into the city to search for her, with his bokken in hand, appeared in her mind.  
  
"You mean the boy you were trying to drag out of your car last week?"  
  
Kaoru was stunned after hearing those words. Her shock had kept her standing in front of that man, who obviously knew a lot more than he was letting on.  
  
"...how do you know about that?" she questioned, not comfortable with the possibility that she might have been stalked.  
  
The corners of his mouth lifted into a mysterious smile. "It's a secret."  
  
There was nothing sinister about the way that his voice sounded, but Kaoru was irritated by how enigmatic he was being.  
  
"You can't expect me to go home after giving me an answer like that," she said, half-pouting.  
  
He grinned. "Then I guess you have no choice but to go to dinner with me, now do you?"  
  
She sighed in response. Although she knew that she was defeated, Kaoru wasn't angry or afraid of the man. If anything, her curiosity was encouraging her to go with him.  
  
It was hard to explain, but her instinct was telling her to trust him.  
  
"Fine, you win. But I need to get to a payphone to call home—"  
  
As if on cue, Enishi produced a cell phone from the inner pocket of his coat. Kaoru graciously took it from him and began dialing.  
  
* * * *  
  
Sano looked disapprovingly at his cousin. Mounds of rice and stir- fried vegetables were still present on the table. Usually, Yahiko would've wolfed down nearly half of the meal before him. But for some reason tonight, Sano could tell that he didn't have much of an appetite.  
  
"What's wrong?" He finally spoke. "You're hardly eating anything."  
  
"I'm not hungry." Was the sullen reply. Yahiko looked to the clock that was positioned on the wall that the refrigerator leaned against, and it was then that Sano knew what was troubling the boy.  
  
"You shouldn't worry about her," the older Kamiya assured him. "She's probably just running late."  
  
Yahiko suddenly came alive with concern. "I still think we should call that Shinomori guy that she works for."  
  
Sano chewed on a cooked piece of broccoli. "Why?"  
  
"Why else, Rooster-head? To check on Kaoru!"  
  
"She called us at six like she told you she would, didn't she?"  
  
Yahiko crossed his arms, but nodded.  
  
"Then she'll come home soon," Sano concluded, gathering more vegetables with his chopsticks. "So stop worrying so damn much and eat."  
  
The boy silently agreed and began to consume his meal. They both ate wordlessly, the munching of rice and vegetables the only sound that was heard. Usually, the room would be filled with the angry yells of Kaoru as she argued with either Sano or Yahiko. But on some nights, the dinner would be filled with her laughter while she listened to Sano telling her a joke. She would smile happily as Yahiko would tell her the latest events at his school or his progress on the baseball team. Whether she had a bad day or a good day, what mattered to her family was that she was always there. With this new job of hers, she had to work everyday of the week except Sunday, which meant that Kaoru would be spending less time at home.  
  
Being a child and inexperienced in the subject of financial matters, a part of Yahiko didn't understand why Kaoru had to work so much. He kind of wished that she still worked at the Akabeko because Tae was kind enough to allow Kaoru to take two or three days off from work. Now that she was a secretary for a psychologist, Yahiko wasn't sure if her new boss would let her take a day other than Sunday off.  
  
The sudden ringing of the phone interrupted the silence of their dinner. Yahiko nearly sprang onto his feet to reach it from the wall that it hung from, but Sano was closer.  
  
"Hello?" he casually greeted, his younger cousin right next to him, straining to hear a response.  
  
"Sano?"  
  
"Hey, Jou-chan," he said, ignoring Yahiko who was tugging incessantly at the sleeve of his shirt.  
  
"Ask her where she is!" he hissed.  
  
"Did you guys eat?"  
  
"Yeah, we're in the middle of dinner—"  
  
"Ask her, damn it!!!"  
  
"Calm down, brat!" Sano shouted at him. "Where are you now?" He finally asked to appease the boy.  
  
"I'm outside Dr. Shinomori's office. I'm calling to let you know that I'm coming home later tonight."  
  
He cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"  
  
"I decided to get something to eat while I'm here. All I've had to eat since lunch was candy."  
  
"What is she saying?" Yahiko demanded to know, pulling on the man's sleeve again. "C'mon, tell me!"  
  
"Will you quit it?" An irritated Sano snapped. "Hey Jou-chan, before the brat drives me crazy, talk to him."  
  
He shoved the phone to Yahiko who eagerly pressed it against his ear. "Kaoru?"  
  
"Hi, Yahiko," she greeted, but her cheerful voice did little to pacify him.  
  
"Why aren't you home, busu?!" he shouted into the phone. "You said that you would be here by now!"  
  
"Settle down! I'm just going to get something to eat."  
  
His hand gripped tighter on the phone. "We could save you some dinner, y'know."  
  
"It's okay. I want you guys to eat as much as you want."  
  
"Are you more stupid than I thought you were?" his voice escalating to a yell. "You're in the city, and in case you haven't noticed, it's dark! It isn't safe—"  
  
"Yahiko, don't worry about me." Kaoru attempted to soothe her cousin. "I'll be fine."  
  
The boy began to say something, but his thoughts came out in stammers.  
  
"I'll be fine." She asserted once more.  
  
Yahiko's shoulders slumped. After living for so long with Kaoru, he knew that once her mind was made up that it was impossible to argue with her. It was a battle that he had yet to win.  
  
"Did you do your homework?" She asked.  
  
"...not all of it..." The boy confessed.  
  
An aggravated sigh came from the receiver. "Finish it before 9:30, got it? And then it's straight to bed. I'm not going to be happy if I see Sano and you staying up and watching horror movies again."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Don't you do anything else but nag?" Yahiko retorted, giving up his efforts to make Kaoru come home.  
  
"I wouldn't have to if you listened to me more!"  
  
Before Yahiko could say anything else, Sano snatched the phone from his hands. A heated argument between his little sister and their cousin would only pile up the phone bill.  
  
* * * *  
  
It had only been a fifteen-minute drive, and Enishi was even more confounded by Kaoru than he had been when she first spoke. Normally because of his position as the wealthy president of an international corporation, it was only common for him to expect women in his company to want to dine in a classy and utterly expensive restaurant. The women that he had been with in the past wanted candlelit dinners and luxurious tables decorated with fresh-cut flowers. They only wanted to eat the finest cuisine and drink the most aged, and coincidentally the priciest, brand name wines that was in the restaurant's stock.  
  
Kaoru was as sure as hell different than the others.  
  
He eyed the establishment curiously, taking note of the small, yet decent, sized building with windows overlooking the city streets. He had seen the cracks that began to form at one side of the building, and the faded paint was beginning to peel slightly.  
  
"...you actually want to eat in there?" he asked the girl next to him, feeling that he shouldn't have allowed her to choose where they would eat.  
  
She nodded, smiling. "Yep! It's been a while since I've eaten here. Plus, you said that you would treat me to dinner at any place that I wanted to go to."  
  
"I didn't expect you to choose somewhere as...unrefined as this, for lack of a better word."  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Hey, you said that I could choose, so I choose this place!" She began to walk across, but to Enishi's surprise, she stopped in the middle of the street.  
  
"Well?" she asked him. "Aren't you coming with me?"  
  
As much as he didn't want to, Enishi went to her side and they both crossed the street together. If he kept her waiting, it would be most likely that she would've been killed by a speeding car if her starvation didn't get to her first.  
  
They entered the building, and Kaoru felt a small happiness swelling inside of her once the scent of warm food filled her nostrils. A woman in her mid-thirties immediately greeted them as the door closed behind them.  
  
"How many in your party?"  
  
Enishi thought the answer was obvious, but Kaoru politely answered, "Two, please."  
  
The woman led them to a booth that was further down away from the entrance. Enishi took a seat across from his raven-haired companion. After she notified them of the daily specials and took down their orders for drinks, the waitress left the pair alone.  
  
Kaoru flipped through the pages of her menu enthusiastically. "I wonder if they still have it..."  
  
Enishi watched her in amusement while waiting for his coffee to arrive.  
  
She suppressed a squeal of happiness, but a joyous smile beamed on her lips. "They do!" With that, she closed her menu and faced Enishi once again.  
  
"Aren't you going to look at the menu? You are planning to eat, right?" Kaoru asked, a trace of worry in her voice.  
  
"Since I've never been here before, I'll just eat whatever you're getting." He rationalized.  
  
His confidence did not entirely comfort her. "Are you sure? What I like might be completely different than what you like."  
  
He grinned at her genuine concern for him. "It's fine."  
  
Within another minute their drinks arrived, and Kaoru ordered for the both of them. The waitress then disappeared into the kitchen, and the college girl began to sip her glass of soda from her straw.  
  
She observed Enishi drinking his coffee without the addition of sugar and cream, and she made a disgusted face. He caught this and his attention was focused on her once again.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Aren't you going to put any sugar into that?"  
  
He drank more from his mug. "No, I prefer it black."  
  
Kaoru stuck out her tongue in distaste. "How can you drink that stuff?"  
  
Intrigued by her brazenness, Enishi set the mug down onto the table. He didn't say answer, watching her drain the soda through her plastic straw.  
  
"My brother takes his coffee strong, too," she continued. "It drives me crazy, how he can stand to like something that tastes so bitter..."  
  
The thought of Sano instantly made something in her mind click. Immediately remembering that this stranger knew about the incident with Yahiko last week in addition to her name, she became intent on getting some information.  
  
Enishi noticed the serious expression on her face and the sudden quietness of her manners. "What is it?"  
  
"Well, here we are," she said matter-of-factly like she was one of his business clients. "I agreed to go to dinner with you. Now that we're waiting for it, do you mind giving me some answers?"  
  
He knew what she was implying and thought that it would only be fair to tell her. "What would you like to know?"  
  
"For starters, you can tell me how you knew about my cousin." she stated, ignoring her soda.  
  
He thought that the slight trace of paranoia in her voice was somewhat humorous. Enishi could already tell that Kaoru was a person who cared deeply about her family. "It's simple, really. I had to get to work and was unable to go the route that I normally did because of some construction. I decided to drive another way, which happened to take me past a schoolyard. While I was waiting at the traffic light, I heard someone screaming."  
  
Kaoru's cheeks flushed at his last sentence, suddenly recalling that she was indeed screaming herself hoarse while she attempted to get Yahiko out of the car. At the time, she didn't realize all the attention she was attracting. Getting Yahiko to school was more important than worrying about how she appeared in the eyes of the public.  
  
"Naturally, I looked. And there you were, looking as if you were going to murder the boy in your car."  
  
Her lips were set in a straight line. "I wasn't going to MURDER him."  
  
Enishi scoffed. "You could've fooled me by the way you were destroying your car window."  
  
"I had no choice!" She protested exasperatedly, earning another sneer from Enishi. "Yahiko could be such a brat! Sometimes he can be so stubborn that he won't listen to anyone!"  
  
The ice in her soda began to melt slowly as Enishi allowed her to vent. He pushed his empty mug aside and listened to the raging college girl.  
  
"He can be so...impossible!" she finally finished.  
  
Silence answered her and Kaoru immediately remembered where she was. Her eyes then looked to Enishi, whose chin was propped on his palm, the smirk still present on his face.  
  
"Done yet?"  
  
She suddenly looked down. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I didn't mean to rant like that."  
  
"It seems like you rather dislike your cousin," he remarked.  
  
The anger drained out of her at the comment. Her lips lifted into a small smile and she shook her head, stray strands of raven hair slipping past her shoulder. "No, it's not that I dislike him. It's just that...I wish he wasn't so argumentative at times."  
  
Her fingers unconsciously brushed back her bangs. "He can get so angry over little things, and he never thinks before he acts."  
  
Enishi listened intently, absorbed by the serenity that just seemed to glow from her.  
  
"He's always doing mean things, too, like pulling pranks on me or calling me 'busu'. But I think that that's his way of hiding his feelings. I think that he would rather die than tell me what's going on inside that thick head of his."  
  
She then concentrated on Enishi, a lighthearted smile playing on rosy lips. "You were a little boy once yourself. What do you think?"  
  
His back stiffened at the question and his chin left the palm of his hand. "I was different."  
  
"In what sense?" she asked naively, unaware of the pain that the simple question stirred within him.  
  
He ran a hand through his platinum white hair. He wanted to avoid the question, but there was something about this girl that made him want to give her an answer. He took a moment to study her as she waited patiently for him to answer.  
  
It was uncharacteristic of Enishi to look directly into women's faces. On the rare occasion that he did, he would only see lust and greed present in their eyes. Words would purr from their lips, painted with crimson, as they would attempt to seduce him, and the potent fumes of their perfume would dizzy him.  
  
But she wasn't like that. When he looked into her eyes, he could only see innocence in the blue depths, something that he thought he would never see again. Her face was not tainted with rouge or lipstick, and the scent of heady perfume was nonexistent. She was simple, but Enishi had to admit that she was lovely.  
  
And more surprisingly, what she wanted from him wasn't money or precious jewelry like so many women had wanted. All she wanted was an answer.  
  
"I wasn't one to play tricks on others," he finally admitted. "I was quiet and kept to myself. I didn't socialize with other children or anyone else for that matter. In fact, the only person I could ever talk to was..."  
  
He trailed off abruptly, the uneasy silence returning. Sadness gripped his heart upon remembering a pair of mahogany eyes and a pale, beautiful face framed with long, black hair. His heart ached at the memory of the warm, understanding smile that always lifted his spirits, even when he was wallowing in misery.  
  
"...my sister." He ended. The poise in his voice was gone as nostalgia got the better of him.  
  
She stared at him, concern spread across her features. Kaoru had sensed the dramatic change in his behavior. One moment he was smirking and teasing her, the next he was staring off into space with his hands lying limply on the surface of the table. The confident businessman that had insisted that he treated to dinner seemed to be gone. In his place was a quiet man who was engulfed with a deep sorrow that she couldn't even try to explain.  
  
It was all very sad. And that was enough for Kaoru to feel sympathy for him.  
  
"Here you are," the waitress interrupted the heavy silence and placed two large bowls in front of each of them. Thick slices of beef were covered in simmering stew and rice. Normally, Kaoru would've began consuming the warm meal and be done with it in a few minutes. However, her appetite was the least of her problems.  
  
Her eyes stayed on him even after the waitress left. Even though she didn't know him very well, Kaoru knew that something was seriously bothering him. She couldn't read minds, but she could read people. The sudden change in the way he acted and the distant look in his turquoise eyes was all the proof she needed.  
  
Enishi was in pain, and knowing that saddened her.  
  
"...Enishi?"  
  
She thought that he didn't hear her because she failed to get an answer from him. More worried than she was before, her hand left her side and gently placed itself on top of his.  
  
Enishi's thoughts were broken by the simple touch. The softness of her flesh kissing his hand had excited every nerve in his body. But at the same time, a sense of tranquility was settling within him. The warmth of her skin was comforting, and he didn't want it to leave him.  
  
"Are you all right?" she asked him, her genuine concern for him dampening the vivacity of her voice.  
  
Snapping out of his stupor, Enishi collected himself. "Yes."  
  
One look at her confirmed that she didn't believe him. Kaoru was worried about him, and knowing that made him feel better.  
  
It was as if she cared for him.  
  
"So, is this as good as you make it out to be?" He asked referring to the stew, steering the conversation elsewhere.  
  
She knew he was changing the subject, but she didn't say anything. If Enishi wanted to talk about something else, she wasn't going to object. Even if she was still concerned, she didn't want to say anything else that would hurt him.  
  
"You're just going to have to taste it," she said, grinning.  
  
Enishi silently thanked her for dropping the topic, and they both began eating.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Whew, that was really hard. I tried writing this chapter without making it ultra-sappy and making sure the characters were in check.  
  
Anyway, I'd like to say a few things. First of all, thanks for giving me the criticism guys. I'm sorry for some of the errors, but alas, I am only human. I apologize for any inconveniences you ran into while reading this.  
  
Speaking of which, I'd like to make a correction. I completely forgot that Yahiko would actually be in elementary school rather than middle school according to the Japanese school system. I'll be making that change soon ^_^  
  
Secondly, I want to say that I'm fairly new to the Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction world. Because of that, I can't be aware of ALL the kinds of stories there are, and I can't help it if something in my story is similar to someone else's. There is no such thing as the original fanfiction idea, hence the word "fanfiction". However, I DO NOT take other people's stories and make them my own.  
  
Thirdly, I bet you guys are wondering about Kenshin. Keep reading and you'll find out ^_~ Oh, and I don't intend to have a triangle involving Aoshi. Don't get me wrong, there will be a triangle, but poor Aoshi is going to have to sit out.  
  
Thanks again for your support! I'm glad that there's people who actually enjoy reading my work! 


	5. Hello Again

Torn  
  
Chapter Five: Hello Again  
  
Kaoru cautiously shut her car door. The night breeze tickled her cheeks as she made her way to the front of the house, her shoes quietly padding the ground. She knew that it was late, and Kaoru was certain that if either Sano or Yahiko were awake, they would be waiting for her inside to get some answers.  
  
She inspected the house and saw that it was dark inside. There were no lights, no restless shadow of a pacing Yahiko, and the tall figure of her brother was absent from the window. It seemed that they had both gone to sleep.  
  
At least, that was what Kaoru wanted to believe.  
  
She inserted the key into her door and gently pushed aside the shoji. Soundlessly, it swiftly opened and she quietly stepped inside. A slanted splinter of the moonlight hit the floor, but it vanished when she had closed the screen behind her.  
  
Kaoru scanned the room, and to her relief found no one. Slipping off her shoes and placing them beside the mat, she noiselessly made her way to her room...  
  
"Welcome back, Jou-chan."  
  
The arrogant voice sounded from the living room, and Kaoru nearly jumped from fright. A light suddenly came on, revealing her older brother sitting nonchalantly on the family sofa with an all-knowing smirk plastered on his face. Curled in a ball on the other end of the sofa was Yahiko, his head resting on a pillow.  
  
"Nice to finally see that you're home," Sano commented, rising form the couch. With a loud yawn, he stretched his arms and cracked his neck.  
  
"What's the matter with you, Sano?" Kaoru hissed. "Do you want to give me a heart attack?"  
  
The smirk got wider. "Watch your temper, Jou-chan. You don't want to wake up the brat here and make things harder for you, do you?"  
  
She was about to fire back with a smart response, but decided against it. Waking up Yahiko would be like summoning the next Apocalypse. If he found that his older cousin had returned when it was nearly three hours after she called him, she wouldn't hear the end of it.  
  
Giving in, Kaoru took a deep breath. "You still shouldn't have scared me like that."  
  
"And you shouldn't have been sneaking into the house like that," Sano softly chided. "But we'll talk about that later."  
  
Effortlessly, the older Kamiya lifted the sleeping boy into his arms without waking him. "First, help me get the kid into bed."  
  
Smiling warmly, Kaoru agreed and followed Sano to their cousin's bedroom. Clothes, both clean and dirty, were strewn upon the floor. Empty soda cans and empty bags and candy wrappers also littered the room. A motionless videogame console and two nearly tangled controllers were also on the ground. The static of the television set that the console was attached to illuminated the room, shedding some light for the brother and sister.  
  
Sano stepped over the remains of the junk food and laundry with Kaoru following him. When they had made it to the bed, he lowered the boy onto the mattress. Kaoru pulled the comforter over their cousin's scrawny form. Peace washed over her while she watched him slept. A few snores escaped loudly from his throat as he laid there in a deep slumber.  
  
"He kept yelling that we should've driven to the city to look for you," Sano said, "it took everything I had to keep myself from taping his mouth shut."  
  
The fresh infliction of guilt stung her heart. "I'm sorry, Sano. I honestly didn't think that I would be home this late. I lost track of time."  
  
He grinned. "I figured that you needed some time to yourself."  
  
If only Kaoru could tell her brother that she wasn't actually spending that time alone.  
  
"He really was worried though," Sano said, his usually boastful voice softening. "I tried to get him to stop panicking. After he did his homework, we watched a movie and played a few videogames."  
  
"And you didn't bother to turn the TV off after you were done," Kaoru scolded lightly, pressing a small button on the machine. With a small zap, the static disappeared and only the light from the hallway could be seen in the now dark room.  
  
Sano continued. "That didn't settle him down, so he waited for you in the living room with me. Too bad he fell asleep before you walked in."  
  
Kaoru smiled thoughtfully, running her hand through a few unruly strands of her cousin's hair. "I told him to get to bed at 9:30. He's going to be really cranky tomorrow morning."  
  
The siblings then left Yahiko in bed, carefully shutting the door after them.  
  
"I can use a cup of coffee." Sano said.  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Does that mean you want me to make it for you?"  
  
Her brother only smirked. "C'mon, Jou-chan. It's the least you can do after making me and the brat worry so much."  
  
His brown eyes widened and gave her a mock expression of hurt. She hated it when Sano did that. It made him look like a lost little puppy, despite the fact that he was twice her height.  
  
She sighed in defeat. "Fine. I could use some tea anyway."  
  
They went into the kitchen where Kaoru turned on the stove and allowed a kettle of water to boil. As she waited, she began to make Sano's coffee, the older sibling sitting back in a chair.  
  
"So where'd you go?" He asked her.  
  
"That old restaurant downtown that we used to go to," Kaoru said, getting out two cups from the cupboard. "You know, the one across from that antiques store?"  
  
Sano raised a brow. "You went there?"  
  
"I assumed that it was too soon to go within ten feet of the Akabeko," Kaoru replied, pouring coffee into a cup and handing it to her brother. "Plus, it's been a while since I've eaten at that restaurant."  
  
"You mean to tell me that you went downtown by yourself?"  
  
She tried to brush away the question as she made her tea. "What if I did?"  
  
Sano set his cup on the table. "Jou-chan, you shouldn't be so careless. I've told you since you were little not to go there alone."  
  
Wishing her overprotective brother would change the subject, Kaoru busied herself by adding a spoonful of sugar to her drink. "I can take care of myself, Sano."  
  
"Still, it isn't safe."  
  
"I came back in one piece, didn't I?"  
  
"Yeah, after three hours."  
  
"I told you that I lost track of time!"  
  
"I know you have a watch, Jou-chan. It's not like you to be...you think that you added enough sugar?"  
  
Kaoru looked at her cup and she saw what her brother was referring to. White grains were scattered on the counter. She noticed that the sugar that she put in filled nearly half of her cup, causing the level of her tea to rise considerably.  
  
Her pretty face flustered, she began to quickly stir her tea. "What are you talking about? I like it this sweet."  
  
To prove her point, she took a little sip. After the saccharine liquid slipped down her throat, she felt as if her teeth were rotting from the inside out.  
  
Sano couldn't help but feel that his sister was behaving quite strangely tonight. She was being more defensive as usual, over what Sano wasn't sure about.  
  
And her face...her cheeks were blushing lightly. She looked like some timid little high school girl with a secret crush...  
  
...a crush...  
  
The light bulb turned on in his head. A wicked grin spread across his lips, making Kaoru even more uncomfortable.  
  
"W-what?" she stammered.  
  
"So that's it!" he exclaimed. "That's the reason why you're acting so weird."  
  
Kaoru gave her brother a clueless look.  
  
"It's a guy," Sano explained, his voice taunting her. "You were with a guy."  
  
Her cup of tea nearly slipped out of her hands. "WHAT?!"  
  
Her brother stood up from his chair and threw his arms around her tightly. He lifted her off of her feet and was swinging her around like a rag doll, laughing his head off.  
  
"Kaoru has a boyfriend!" he teased in sing-song, nearly hugging the life out of her.  
  
"Stop it, Sano!" she cried angrily. "I do NOT have a boyfriend!"  
  
"Aw, Kaoru-chan is finally growing up!" he continued, setting her back on her feet. He still continued to torture her by rubbing the top of her head with one callused hand, messing up her long hair in the process.  
  
"Quit it!" Kaoru yelled, trying to swat Sano's hand away.  
  
"So who is he?" Sano ignored her protests, his grin widening by the minute. "I bet he's some classmate at college."  
  
"No! For the last time, I wasn't with anybody—"  
  
"Or was it Shinomori?" Sano smirked mischievously. "Or maybe you sweet-talked one of the teenagers in the waiting room to go out with you."  
  
"He was NOT a high school student!!!" she shrieked.  
  
A heavy silence fell between the siblings. Kaoru stared angrily at her brother, and realized that the foolish grin was still present on his lips.  
  
"...why, Jou-chan," he drawled innocently. "I thought that you said that you ate dinner by yourself tonight."  
  
"I did—" Kaoru stopped and nearly bit her tongue. Just as Sano had expected, she had taken the bait.  
  
Kaoru wanted nothing more than to slap herself.  
  
He laughed at the priceless look on her blushing face. Her eyes glared daggers at Sano, her finger pointed accusingly at the older sibling.  
  
"You tricked me!"  
  
"And you lied to me," he said goodheartedly. But he only smiled warmly and gathered his little sister into another bear hug. "But I forgive you."  
  
She pouted, trapped in her brother's embrace. Kaoru was irritated, she knew that she could never stay angry with Sano. She was never able to since they were children.  
  
"So who is he?" Sano asked. "And when will I get to meet him?"  
  
"You act like I'm dating him!" Kaoru snapped. "It was just dinner."  
  
"What kind of guy was he like?" he continued his questions, too intrigued that Kaoru had actually shared a meal with a man.  
  
She sighed, and decided that answering Sano was the only way she could get him to shut up. "You might actually get along with him. He's over- confident and likes to tease me, just like you."  
  
The image of intense turquoise eyes and snow-white hair flitted in her mind. "But he wasn't all bad. He put up with my ranting and he paid for dinner."  
  
Enishi had driven her back to the parking lot outside of Aoshi's office, as much as Kaoru had insisted that she could take a cab. His reasoning was that he didn't want her to be by herself in a dark, empty parking lot. He had opened her car door for her and escorted her inside. She smiled unconsciously upon remembering seeing Enishi from her rear view mirror as he stood outside, watching her drive off.  
  
"He was really polite. Like a gentleman."  
  
Sano noticed the softness in Kaoru's tone of voice, and he hugged her even tighter. "It sounds like Jou-chan has a crush."  
  
She pushed her brother away from him. "I told you, we just had dinner! It's not like I'm interested in him!"  
  
She gathered the empty cups and walked over to the sink. She turned on the faucet and lukewarm water gushed out. Her back was stiff as she scrubbed the insides of the cups with a sponge.  
  
"Besides...I don't think I'm ready for something like that."  
  
Kaoru placed the cups onto the drying rack and shut off the water, but she didn't turn around to face Sano.  
  
"I'm...I'm still waiting for him..."  
  
Sano suddenly regretted teasing Kaoru when he saw her frail shoulders slumping over. Although she wasn't looking at him, he didn't have to see her face to know that she was upset.  
  
He drew close to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Jou- chan..."  
  
"...he hasn't called for a while," she said suddenly, her soft voice embodying two years' worth of grief and heartache. "I haven't received any letters or e-mail from him, either."  
  
His grip tightened.  
  
"But he promised he'd be back..." she trembled involuntarily, her body steadied by Sano's firm hold. "So I keep expecting to see him show up one day with that stupid-looking smile on his face."  
  
"...you shouldn't do this to yourself," Sano scolded her lightly. "You shouldn't wait for him, Jou-chan."  
  
He didn't want to say it, but to see his little sister wasting away for someone that had severed all communications with her was unbearable.  
  
"You don't know when he'll be coming back. Neither of us does."  
  
She cast her brother a sideways glance and smiled wistfully. "He promised me, Sano."  
  
She turned away from her brother, her blue eyes fixated on the water dripping from the clean cups and into the sink.  
  
"And you know Kenshin. He never breaks his promises."  
  
* * * *  
  
What was this strange feeling? This alien emotion that elated his spirits? Never before had he felt this serene, this calm...  
  
Or this utterly bewildered.  
  
Enishi paced back and forth, his bare feet disturbing the rich Persian carpet that sprawled majestically against the floor of his bedroom. Slips of moonlight escaped from the barriers of his curtains, accentuating the white slivers of his wild hair.  
  
Usually, he would be sitting in front of his fireplace, sipping wine and allowing himself to drown in the ghosts of his memories. He would drink himself to a stupor in the worst cases of his depression, but even then he found it difficult to sleep.  
  
Now...in the darkness of his room, all he could think about was her. Her brazen nature and her kind smile flooded all other thoughts.  
  
He gritted his teeth. Enishi didn't like the fact that such an outspoken girl could have a strong effect on him. He looked at his hand and searched it with his turquoise eyes, looking for something that wasn't physically there.  
  
That was where her hand had been. Even though it was only for a short time, the smoothness of her fingers and her palm still lingered on his hand. He remembered the shiver of electricity that ran through his nerves when she had inflicted him with her gentle touch. He was sure that her intention behind the simple gesture was on friendly terms, but he found the contact of her soft skin to be...intimate. Desirable, even.  
  
He sighed and decided to turn in for the night. He got onto his bed, his bare chest exposed to the cool atmosphere of his room. His head turned to his side where he caught a small bottle standing next to a crystal decanter of red wine on his nightstand.  
  
He had forgotten to take his medicine tonight.  
  
His hand reached out for the bottle, and he felt its plastic texture in his grasp. He observed it, reading over the prescription label.  
  
Anti-depressants. Take one to two pills every six hours.  
  
He held the bottle in his hand for a little bit, and then placed it back on his nightstand. Enishi took off his glasses and put them next to the medicine, not taking another look at the plastic bottle or the red wine.  
  
For some reason, he didn't feel a need to consume either the pills or the alcohol. He only wanted to see her again tomorrow.  
  
Enishi closed his eyes, the feel of creamy skin and a compassionate smile the last things that he had thought about before succumbing to sleep.  
  
* * * *  
  
Strips of sunlight invaded his room and impatiently coaxed him to awaken. His brow creased in aggravation as he tugged the covers over him to shield himself from the morning sun. It was much too early to get up...  
  
The alarm clock sounded, its high-pitched ringing indicating that it was indeed time to prepare for the day. His hand slammed on the contraption, and he rolled onto his side. His scrawny form was rumpled beneath the comforter, his weary mind trying to deceive himself that morning had not arrived yet.  
  
The faint smell of cooking food teased his nostrils. His empty stomach began to grumble loudly, the thought of fried eggs and toast luring him out of bed. Kaoru must have been awake by now...  
  
...Kaoru...  
  
Yahiko bolted out of bed and ran out of his room. He nearly slipped on the ends of his pajama pants, but that didn't stop him for long. His feet brought him to the family kitchen, where his cousin was humming to herself and preparing breakfast. His heart swelled with relief at the familiar sight.  
  
It was good to know that she had returned home safely.  
  
Sensing a familiar presence behind her, Kaoru whirled around. Half- lidded eyes and messy black hair were there to greet her.  
  
"Good morning, Yahiko."  
  
His relief was hidden behind a visage of anger. "Don't 'good morning' me, busu! Where the hell were you last night?!"  
  
"Eating dinner," she simply responded, removing the eggs from the frying pan and putting them on a plate.  
  
"It took you that long to eat?!" he rampaged on. "When did you come home anyway? Did you have any idea how late I stayed up waiting for your sorry ass to get home?!"  
  
"Sano told me everything."  
  
He expected an apology, but it never came. "Well? Aren't you gonna say anything?"  
  
"What do you want me to say?" she asked, irritated by how pushy the boy was acting this morning.  
  
"That you're sorry!" he yelled. "That you won't stay out that late ever again!"  
  
She stared at Yahiko, her features expressing sympathy for him. Kaoru truly didn't mean to make the child so worried about her. He never told her, but she knew that Yahiko considered her to be more of a sister than a cousin. His overprotective nature proved that.  
  
Turning off the stove, she faced him. With a steady gaze and a serious expression that betrayed her young age, she spoke, "I'm sorry, Yahiko. I just lost track of time."  
  
He hesitated, but continued, "That isn't an excuse! You said you would come home soon, but you didn't!"  
  
"It was a mistake!"  
  
"Well what if I did the same thing? Wouldn't you be worried if I came home later than I said I would?!"  
  
Kaoru took a deep breath and exhaled. Her cousin had a good point. She would be worried to death if Yahiko didn't come home until near midnight.  
  
"I'm sorry," she repeated, her eyes holding his. "I won't do it again, okay?"  
  
He regarded the sincerity of her voice, and he decided that he had made his point. As much as he enjoyed teasing and infuriating Kaoru, he didn't want her to be ENTIRELY miserable.  
  
"You better not," he remarked.  
  
"And you had better get into the bathroom," Kaoru said, cracking another egg on the heated skillet. "I think Sano just got up."  
  
His eyes widened and a sudden shutting of a door sounded in the hallway. Whirling around, Yahiko rushed to the bathroom.  
  
"Hey, I was up first!" he screamed. The morning ritual commenced and he began beating his fists on the chestnut door. "SANO!!!"  
  
Kaoru only hummed, scrambling the eggs with the tip of her spatula.  
  
* * * *  
  
He leaned against his car, staring at her slim, petite form as she spoke to her younger cousin. Her back was to him, the endless stream of raven drifting slightly in the breeze. From the way the sunlight was hitting the strands, her hair looked as if there was a faint bluish tint to it rather than pitch-black. He found it very attractive.  
  
A few more words, and the boy departed from her with his baseball bat and his schoolbag. She continued to watch him until he disappeared into the crowds of children. The alarm sounded, and the schoolyard was soon empty except for parents that had sent their sons and daughters off. They were departing, and so was she. Funny how she stood out from all those middle- aged men and women. She wasn't a housewife or a workaholic businessperson; her lovely face and slender frame had shown her youth.  
  
Muted surprise was apparent in her blue eyes, and he felt a grin tugging the corners of his mouth. He knew that she wasn't expecting to see him so soon again.  
  
She hid her astonishment with a playful smile. "Is road construction that bad in Tokyo?"  
  
He shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't know. I haven't driven on that route lately."  
  
The sunshine glinted brightly in her sapphire depths. "So what are you doing here?" she smirked impishly. "Did I attack one of your employees again?"  
  
He smiled in response. "Not that I know of. Even if that were the case, I wouldn't blame you. It would only make my job easier."  
  
"How?"  
  
"It's simple. I'd be saving money if I fired more workers."  
  
A light laughter escaped her lips. "You truly are a heartless corporate shark, you know that?"  
  
"Why, thank you."  
  
Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Don't go feeling so sorry for yourself."  
  
"I don't intend to," he haughtily replied. "Aside from that, are you free tonight?"  
  
She bit her bottom lip and looked towards her feet. "Can't say that I am. I have to get straight home tonight, or else my cousin will have a fit."  
  
"So you have a curfew now?" he teased her.  
  
"No, I don't," she said indignantly. "I just don't want to worry Yahiko to the point that he'll start getting gray hair."  
  
"Fine, then. How about lunch?"  
  
A pink blush darkened her pale cheeks. She shared only one meal with this man and already he was quick to appear before her again. She didn't know whether to be nervous or flattered.  
  
"You're blushing," he pointed out, amused.  
  
"It's a little warm this morning," she lamely answered.  
  
He smirked, knowing full well that little Kaoru Kamiya was lying. "Are you scared of me?"  
  
"No, I'm not!" Kaoru cried. "Why would I be scared of you?"  
  
"Because you seem quite hesitant to accompany me to lunch," he replied coolly, laughing inwardly at how uneasy she looked. "Afraid that I might bite, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
Her lips pouted adorably, her fists clenched at her sides in annoyance. "If you're going to keep making fun of me about it, then I'll go."  
  
He grinned victoriously, his eyes laughing behind his tinted shades.  
  
"But only to shut you up," she added venomously, approaching her car. Once again, Enishi's hand grabbed the handle and he had opened the door for her. She got into the driver's seat, fastening her seatbelt securely over her body.  
  
"I get a lunch break from my classes at eleven. You can meet me at the college entrance—"  
  
"I know where," he interjected.  
  
Kaoru was taken aback, but a part of her wasn't surprised. If Enishi knew her workplace along with her name, then he was likely to know which college she attended.  
  
He shut the door, and Kaoru started the car. She sped away from him, and he looked after her until she was no longer in his sight.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
...okay, I'll admit that this chapter was a little boring. But things will pick up! I have yet to mix in a few more characters into the story, and I'm looking forward to writing about them and more Enishi/Kaoru interaction. I like to see them squabble...it's so cute ^_^  
  
Anyway, thanks again for the reviews. I'm glad that I'm keeping the characters in check, but I'm kinda worried about Enishi. I hope I'm portraying his character SOMEWHAT accurately.  
  
Oh well, have a good weekend ^_^ 


	6. Friendly Conversation

Torn  
  
Chapter Six: Friendly Conversation  
  
Kaoru longingly eyed the luscious slice of cheesecake that sat on her plate. The creamy layer was covered in a generous portion of succulent strawberries. Wasting no time, she picked up her fork and began to eat happily.  
  
The enigmatic man across from her raised an eyebrow. It was amusing how something as simple as dessert could make this girl so content.  
  
Her fork stopped midway in the air, her gaze fixated on Enishi. "What?"  
  
He caught himself staring at her, and he brushed her question off. "Nothing."  
  
Looking down at his cup of coffee, Kaoru made a frown. "Aren't you going to order any dessert?"  
  
"I'm fine," he asserted. "I don't care to eat anything else."  
  
"But it's so good," she replied with a tenacity that could match his own. "It wouldn't kill you to consume anything other than coffee, would it?"  
  
"I don't want anything else," he repeated.  
  
Not satisfied with his answer, Kaoru separated a piece of the rich cheesecake with her fork and held it out to Enishi. "Have a bite."  
  
Enishi ignored her and drank some of his coffee.  
  
Letting out an exasperated sigh, she moved the fork closer to his face. "Eat it."  
  
He shook his head resolutely. "I don't want to."  
  
"Come on!" she impatiently exclaimed. "You'll really like it."  
  
"I doubt that."  
  
"How do you know that if you haven't tried it?"  
  
"Do you have a problem comprehending what 'no' means?"  
  
"Yes," Kaoru answered cutely. "Now eat."  
  
He didn't answer and quietly drank his coffee.  
  
"You're so unreasonable!" she told him. "All I want you to do is try something and you act like a stubborn little kid!"  
  
Enishi crossed his arms. "You're the one acting stubborn—"  
  
As soon as he spoke those words, Kaoru shoved the cheesecake-laden fork into his mouth. He could do nothing as he felt the cream cheese and graham cracker crust sliding off of the metal prongs and onto his tongue. The sugary taste of the dessert completely overwhelmed his taste buds, with thanks to Kaoru, who was smirking in her seat.  
  
"See? It's not that bad." She said, and took another bite of the dessert.  
  
Enishi chewed slowly, contemplating the girl who sat before him. For someone that he didn't know very well, she wasn't hesitant in forcing her will on him. Or feeding him, for that matter.  
  
She was just full of surprises.  
  
Washing down the cheesecake with a swig of strong coffee, Enishi cringed at the aftertaste that was left in his mouth.  
  
"Oh, come on! It didn't taste that bad, did it?"  
  
He glared at her, pushing his glasses further along the bridge of his nose. "The taste wasn't the problem. It was the manner in which you fed me it."  
  
Blue eyes playfully glistened. "You're like my little cousin."  
  
Enishi watched her as she placed her fork on her now empty plate.  
  
"You're both the biggest brats I know."  
  
Caught off guard by her statement, Enishi nonetheless found himself grinning. Kaoru was indeed a refreshing change; her openness to him was something that he couldn't find in the women he knew from his past.  
  
At the remembrance of the spiky hair and the auburn eyes, Enishi was curious over the fact that the child had lived with Kaoru. Didn't she say that he was her cousin?  
  
"That boy you dropped of at the school..." he caught her attention. "He is your cousin?"  
  
Kaoru nodded, wondering why Enishi wanted to know about Yahiko.  
  
"Why is it that he lives with you? Shouldn't he be living with your aunt and uncle?"  
  
A shadow flitted across her lovely face, but it passed quickly. Propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin on the palms of her dainty hands, Kaoru sighed. "He would. If either of them was living."  
  
The melancholy swirling in her sapphire pools and the nostalgic tone of her usually cheerful voice made Enishi regret that he had even asked. Seeing the remorse on his handsome features, Kaoru smiled reassuringly.  
  
"It's okay, you didn't know," she said.  
  
"...what happened to them?" Enishi was shocked at his question. Normally, he wouldn't have cared had it been anyone else that was sitting across from him.  
  
But the pain that she tried to mask with her vibrant smile...he could sense it. He couldn't explain it, but Enishi wanted to know what had happened that had affected this girl so deeply.  
  
"It happened four years ago," Kaoru began, her fingers playing with the fork on her plate. "Yahiko was six years old, and I was starting my first year in high school. One night, Uncle had to work late at his office and called his wife to tell her that he wouldn't be home for dinner."  
  
Comprehension dawned upon him as she continued. "He never came home. He was shot and robbed in an alley, but no one knew at the time. The next morning, Auntie called the police station. They called back later and said that someone had found Uncle and he was taken to the hospital.  
  
"When we heard about it, my brother and I drove to the hospital Uncle was staying at. Yahiko and Auntie were already there, waiting outside of the operating room."  
  
Kaoru's fingers stopped playing with the fork, allowing her hand to brush away the bangs from her eyes. "I remember her holding Yahiko in her arms, saying that it would be all right even if she didn't know that for sure. A few hours later, the doctor came out and told us that Uncle was dead."  
  
Memories flooded into her of a heartbroken woman wailing in the waiting room as her bewildered child could only watch. "Auntie went into hysterics. After the funeral, she began to stay in her room. She would just lay in bed without moving, leaving my cousin to look after her as best as he could. It got so bad that my brother and I had to take care of Yahiko ourselves.  
  
"Auntie wasn't eating or sleeping, so we had to take her to the hospital. When a week had passed, she had died, too."  
  
Enishi was speechless. He would have never known that the disobedient young boy in Kaoru's care had gone through so much, or what the girl had to suffer after seeing her aunt breakdown from the sudden death of her uncle.  
  
"After that, we took in Yahiko. Since my brother was twenty-one, he was able to become our cousin's legal guardian. And Yahiko has been living with us ever since."  
  
He didn't know what so say...what COULD he possibly say? Like Kaoru's cousin, he too had suffered the loss of someone dear to him. Like this 'Yahiko', he was forced to endure the unbearable pain of never being able to he held in the arms of a loved one.  
  
...however, unlike him, Kaoru's cousin had lost TWO people he loved, and at six years old. Not that it belittled Enishi's loss, it was just that by looking at the boy, he would've never guessed that he had lost his parents at so young an age. It took so many years for Enishi's emotional scars to heal. Even now, there was not a night that his sister's death didn't fill him with grief.  
  
But Yahiko...at first glance, he looked like a normal ten-year-old boy. How is it that the death of his parents did not seem to affect him? Why wasn't the boy plummeting into his own personal hell as Enishi had done when his sister had died?  
  
What did the brat possibly have that could ease his suffering and allowed him to live his life peacefully, whereas every day that Enishi endured was torture?  
  
"You're doing it again!"  
  
Enishi was reeled from his thoughts by the familiar, vivacious voice. "Doing what?"  
  
"Phasing out," Kaoru said. "Like you did last night."  
  
His hand ran through the feathery white locks of his hair. "I apologize."  
  
Kaoru stared at him in concern. "Are you all right?"  
  
He curtly nodded. "Yes, I'm fine—"  
  
"No, you're not," she insisted, a stern tone in her words. "You shouldn't lie, you know?"  
  
Turquoise met sapphire as Enishi felt her eyes on him.  
  
"And what authority do you have to accuse me of lying?" he said, offended.  
  
"It has nothing to do with authority," Kaoru said bluntly. "I'm only saying what's true."  
  
"What makes you think that you know my feelings better than myself, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
"By the way you look."  
  
He dropped his act of cruelty and sat back stunned. Kaoru didn't take any notice, though. She only leaned closer so that he was the only one that could hear her words.  
  
"You look so sad, Enishi. And when you do, you lie about it like you did in the restaurant."  
  
She gave him a meaningful look that expressed curiosity mixed with worry.  
  
"You don't have to lie. I'd like it if you were honest with me instead."  
  
...honest...she wanted him to be honest?  
  
"Besides, you know more about me than I'm comfortable with," she teased, her appearance lighting up with an amiable smile. "It's only fair that I get to know a little more about you, don't you think?"  
  
A moment of silence, and then an amused chuckle. "I'm not so sure about that. I never liked making negotiations. Especially with women."  
  
"Mou!" Kaoru huffed. "You're such a jerk!"  
  
He smirked arrogantly. "You said that you wanted me to be honest," he goaded her.  
  
Kaoru sulked angrily and looked away from him, refusing to make eye contact. "I still think you're mean."  
  
The roguish glint in his eyes softened at the humorous sight. He found her temper to be quite adorable, as strange as that sounded.  
  
Kaoru glanced at her watch and realized that her break was almost over. She stood up from the table, taking out a few bills from her purse.  
  
As she did, Enishi was disappointed knowing that she had to leave.  
  
"This should cover the tip," she said, placing the yen next to her empty plate.  
  
"That's not necessary—"  
  
She wouldn't listen. "You hardly had anything besides that sandwich and some coffee. I had dessert, too. Remember?"  
  
How could he not? She practically crammed a piece of her accursed cheesecake down his throat.  
  
"If you're paying, the least I can do is leave the tip." She concluded and then walked to the exit.  
  
Enishi was still coming to terms with the defeat that Kaoru had just handed him. He wanted to take the yen on the table and shove it into her purse, but doing that would probably earn him another argument.  
  
He gave up and paid for their meal at the cash register. Afterwards, he joined Kaoru and they both left the café.  
  
They stepped into the bustling city, people rushing past them in endless, disorganized lines.  
  
"If it isn't any trouble," Enishi spoke, "I'd like to do this again."  
  
Kaoru blushed a bit, but agreed. "Sure. I don't mind."  
  
A ringing sounded from Enishi's pocket, and he muttered a curse under his breath. "Excuse me for a minute."  
  
She nodded, walking beside him as they approached her car.  
  
He flipped up the moveable cover of the cell phone and brought the receiver to his ear. "What is it, Heishin?"  
  
Kaoru stopped at her car door, waiting patiently to say good-bye to Enishi.  
  
She saw the creasing of white brows and the agitation that sparked in his turquoise eyes. "When...this week?"  
  
Enishi's eyes caught hers during the conversation, a slight frown on his face. She looked away hurriedly, feeling as if she was intruding on his privacy.  
  
"Are you certain?" An irritated sigh and another curse. "Fine, I'll be on the plane tonight."  
  
He shut off the phone and snapped the cover shut, stowing it away into the pocket of his jacket. "I'm sorry, Miss Kamiya."  
  
Once she knew that he was finished, she turned to face him. He looked quite dissatisfied with something.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I have to go on a business trip," he explained in monotone. "I'll be out of the city for the rest of the week."  
  
She reassured him with a kind smile. "That's okay. You've already paid for two of my lunches."  
  
Even her optimism failed to cheer him up. Enishi clearly didn't want to board a plane tonight.  
  
"When you get back, I'll give you a free lunch for a change."  
  
A sense of childish joy lifted his spirits at Kaoru's words. He looked at her to see that she was still smiling.  
  
"It'll be my treat!" She added enthusiastically.  
  
He paused, but then his thin lips curved into a small smile. "I'd like that."  
  
* * * *  
  
A few days later...  
  
Kaoru organized the files that Aoshi had promptly handed her when she had walked in. Even after working for him for almost a week, she knew that her boss was a perfectionist. He was a very hard-working person who wasted no time to complete his work, and he demanded the same thing from Kaoru as his secretary, even if he had yet to actually say it.  
  
The waiting room was occupied with a few teenagers that clearly didn't want to be where they were at the moment. Kaoru was always friendly to them, offering candy and books that Aoshi's past secretaries wouldn't even bother to bring in. An expression of gratitude or a shy smile was what she got in return, and Kaoru was always happy to receive either one. She was glad to be able to do anything to lighten the burden of sitting in boredom for so long.  
  
The phone rang and Kaoru immediately picked it up. "Dr. Shinomori's office. How may I help you?"  
  
"Is this Kamiya Kaoru?"  
  
Surprised that the caller was not asking for the psychologist, Kaoru answered, "Yes, this is she."  
  
"Ah, it is very nice to finally speak to you Kamiya-san," the feminine voice said over the phone. "I am Nakamura Aiko, Yahiko's teacher."  
  
Kaoru stopped all other actions, anxiety getting the better of her. "Has something happened to him?"  
  
"No, Yahiko is fine. I'm calling because of something else."  
  
Relived that her younger cousin's physical well being was not at stake, she let out a little sigh.  
  
But then she realized that if Yahiko wasn't hurt, there was only one other reason why Kaoru would be receiving a call from his teacher.  
  
"What did he do?" she bluntly asked.  
  
* * * *  
  
Kaoru practically threw off her shoes onto the door mat and shut the shoji behind her. Glancing around the surroundings, she found that Sano was absent.  
  
'Probably gambling,' she thought to herself. She moved past the living room and kitchen and stomped up the stairs. The loud blaring of a videogame was heard, and immediately informing her of Yahiko's presence.  
  
Kaoru stood motionless for a second, took a deep breath, and then as calmly as she could, pushed aside the door.  
  
Her cousin was too distracted with his videogame, his fingers pressing the buttons on his controller and rotating the joystick around.  
  
"Yahiko."  
  
At the sound of the familiar voice, the boy glanced at the college girl that had addressed him.  
  
"Oi, busu," he said, and then returned to his videogame.  
  
"We need to talk."  
  
"Hang on," Yahiko replied, paying no attention to the serious tone of Kaoru's voice.  
  
Clearly not in the mood, Kaoru walked behind the television set and promptly pulled the extension cord out of the outlet. The screen suddenly went blank, leaving an annoyed Yahiko in its wake.  
  
"Hey, I was playing that!" he yelled.  
  
Kaoru dropped the cord onto the floor. "I got a call at work today. It was from your teacher."  
  
Eyebrows raised, Yahiko let the controller to slip from his grasp.  
  
"She said that you aren't doing very well in school lately," Kaoru stated, her voice a steady calm. "Is that true?"  
  
Shoulders slumping over, Yahiko bowed his head. He refused to look at her, but he felt the weight of her stare upon him.  
  
"Well? Is it?"  
  
"...what's the big deal?" he answered defiantly. "It's just a bad grade."  
  
"Yahiko, she said that you're close to failing!"  
  
"So what?"  
  
Kaoru sighed in frustration, not believing how unreasonable the boy was being. "Why are you acting like this?"  
  
His hands tightened into fists on his lap. "Acting like what?"  
  
"Like you don't care!"  
  
"...maybe I don't."  
  
"Quit being such a brat! You know very well that you DO care."  
  
"No, I don't," he repeated. "Why would I care? It's not like I'm gonna use any of the crap that they teach in school anyway."  
  
"That's not true—"  
  
"The hell would you know!" he yelled at her, his auburn eyes lifting from the floor to Kaoru's face. "You don't know ANYTHING, so quit bugging me!"  
  
Kaoru was shocked by the sudden change of the boy's mood. It wasn't like him to sound so aggravated.  
  
Yahiko left the floor and sat himself on the mattress of his bead, his face looking towards the window. He could see the reflection of his cousin embedded in the glass surface, so he had to look away.  
  
"...Yahiko, what's wrong?"  
  
The gentleness of her voice made him regret yelling at her, but he childishly held on to his anger.  
  
He wanted to be mad at her. Even if she hadn't done anything to deserve it.  
  
He heard the sound of her feet shifting on the floor as she approached him. The springs of his mattress strained slightly after Kaoru sat down on the bed beside him, adding to his weight.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked again. "Did something happen?"  
  
Yahiko continued to sulk. Placing a feminine hand on his shoulder, she persisted.  
  
"Yahiko, what's bothering you? If you don't want to tell me, we can wait until Sano comes home."  
  
The unwavering silence was her answer. Kaoru felt that he wouldn't tell her anything, until he finally spoke.  
  
"I'm...having trouble with school," he admitted. "The teacher is always moving onto the next lesson because she thinks that the entire class understands. But I don't."  
  
Kaoru noticed the shame in his voice. "Why didn't you say anything? I'm sure your teacher would've helped you."  
  
His shoulders slumped over at the question. "...because...I didn't want the other kids to know. I didn't want them to think that I was stupid..."  
  
She understood now why Yahiko didn't inform her of his dropping grades in the first place. "There's nothing stupid about needing help."  
  
Yahiko snorted. How typical of an adult to say.  
  
Kaoru took his silence as confirmation that she wasn't getting to him. "If you don't want to ask your teacher for help, then I'll tutor you."  
  
A scoff. "How can you? You work almost every day of the freaking week—"  
  
"I'll help you after I come home from work," Kaoru insisted. "Or if you really needed to, you can come down to the office and I can help you with your homework."  
  
"What's the point? I'm never gonna understand this stuff—"  
  
"Because you keep thinking like that!" Kaoru argued. "Listen, you're not stupid. You just learn at a different pace than your other classmates. But if you keep putting yourself down, then you really will flunk out of elementary!"  
  
Yahiko stared at her from the corners of his eyes, doubt still hanging over him like a dark cloud. The uncertainty lingered over him, and he was forced to look away from his cousin.  
  
'What does she know?' he thought to himself. 'Even if she does help me, what if I still don't get it? Will she think I'm the dumbest person in the world if I fail?'  
  
'...would she be ashamed of me if I did?' the boy bit his lip at the question, his stomach doing flips.  
  
All thoughts left him when he felt feminine fingers wriggling under his ribs. He had to breathe through sharp gasps as he came alive with laughter. He looked up to see the mischievous smile on Kaoru's face as she assaulted him with tickles.  
  
"You're WAY too pessimistic," she declared.  
  
"Get...off...me!!!!" he cried, his feet trying to push her away.  
  
"Sorry, can't hear you!" Kaoru yelled over his laughter.  
  
"Stop it!" he yelled, unable to restrain his chortles and the huge smile on his face. "I-I mean it, busu!"  
  
"I'll stop if you repeat after me: I won't fail."  
  
"Quit it!"  
  
Kaoru was relentless, ignoring the boy's demands. "You have to say it!" she said in singsong.  
  
"Fine, fine! I won't fail!" she smiled and ceased her torture, giving Yahiko to sit upright from the mattress.  
  
"Happy now?!" he yelled, both his fists clenched at his sides as if he was going to strike his assailant.  
  
But he knew just as well as Kaoru that he couldn't hurt her. At least not intentionally.  
  
"Yes, very," she answered, "Now you have to keep your promise."  
  
Yahiko smirked. "I didn't promise."  
  
Her eyes grew ominous as they glared at the ten-year-old. "Do you want to be tickled again?"  
  
His sides still exhausted from laughing so hard, Yahiko grudgingly shook his head.  
  
Giggling a bit, Kaoru settled a hand onto his head and began ruffling his black hair. A bit stunned by the compassionate gesture, Yahiko looked up at her.  
  
"You really are silly, you know that?" she chided softly. "You could've just asked me to help you in the first place."  
  
Yahiko scowled, but did nothing to swat away her hand.  
  
"You've got nothing to be worried about, Yahiko. No matter what you think, you aren't stupid."  
  
This was a side of Kaoru that he had rarely saw, and it was only moments like this that he had seen the affectionate person that was concealed behind the screaming and over-emotional girl that he was so used to.  
  
Instead of the ugly hag that he was so accustomed to teasing, a mature young woman was in her place.  
  
"No, you aren't stupid at all," she repeated, lightly tapping her knuckles on his head. "Just a little hard-headed."  
  
"You're one to talk," Yahiko replied with a happy grin on his face. With that, he grabbed one of the pillows resting against his headrest and swung it at Kaoru's stomach.  
  
Seeing how he had just made a declaration of war, she grabbed the other pillow and made contact with Yahiko's side while laughing.  
  
Kaoru could never refuse a challenge.  
  
* * * *  
  
His fingers drummed against the large pane of his window, which overlooked the city lights beneath them. The neon signs and traffic signals shone softly with an artificial, but all too familiar beauty.  
  
Enishi had spent so much time in city life that he had gotten used to never seeing the light of the moon or stars in the evening. Even if he had the chance, he would be too busy with heaps of files and documents that needed his signature.  
  
The all-too-familiar ringing of his cell phone sounded. Turning away from the view, he took it from his nightstand and activated it.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"It's done," a snide voice answered through the speaker. "The delivery has been made, and the evidence has been taken care of."  
  
"You disposed of the bodies then, I take it?" Enishi questioned collectively, as if he was in discussing a simple business matter.  
  
"Yes, Yukishiro-sama. Everything has been taken care of."  
  
"Good. I will be returning to Tokyo shortly after I finish business here. Make sure that everything is in order at my office before then."  
  
A click, and he placed the device on the nightstand again. Rubbing his temples, he went back to the glorious splendor of the city outside of his suite window. He focused on the neon lights, ignoring everything else.  
  
But no matter how hard he tried, he didn't find what he was looking for. The brightness of the light pollution was nothing compared to the pair of vivacious sapphire eyes that he had longed to see.  
  
They did not possess the life and emotion as she had, and he felt that nothing in this world ever could.  
  
Enishi reached into his pocket and got out his wallet. His fingers parting the folds of black leather, he found what he had wanted. He pulled out a wrinkled black and white photograph. The picture had a ragged and flimsy texture to it, so unlike the crisp feeling of the newspaper that he had removed it from. He had taken it out of his wallet and held it in his hands so many times that the photograph was beginning to look worn out.  
  
Nonetheless, he couldn't help but stare at the lovely face and the long raven hair, even if it was mussed up a bit after the encounter that she had with his former employee. Although the black and gray color of the photograph lessened the vibrant shade of blue in her eyes, he still found her to be beautiful.  
  
He sunk back into the softness of his bed, resting his head on one arm while his free hand held up the photograph. His eyes then left her image to the digital numbers of his electronic clock.  
  
It was going to be Saturday morning in Tokyo soon. She would probably be waking up and driving her younger cousin to school. Then she would go to her college until it was her lunch break.  
  
An unsettling sensation made his heart ache. He couldn't explain it, but he felt guilty for leaving her. The guilt only increased with the fact that he wouldn't be able to return to Tokyo until Monday or Tuesday night. Knowing that he wouldn't see her until next week made him depressed. He wanted to have lunch with her. He wanted to hear her voice, to see her smile...  
  
"Yukishiro Enishi, you are a fool," he scolded himself out loud. College girls like Kaoru probably weren't interested in a workaholic businessman such as himself. She probably had a boyfriend away at some other university. He gritted his teeth in jealousy at the thought.  
  
...but then again, Kaoru wasn't like college girls her age. There was an independence about her manner that distinguished her. She also seemed innocent in his eyes. He often wondered if she had ever kissed or been kissed.  
  
Kaoru was, without a doubt, different. But that just made her all the more attractive.  
  
The night waned on as he laid awake in his bed, the photograph still in his grasp.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Yay, another chapter! Thank you once again for your feedback and support: it is much appreciated. Believe me! ^_^  
  
I'm happy to be able to write more Enishi/Kaoru interactions, even if it was a bit minor. Sorry if I went a little too dramatic with Yahiko's past, but I love angst.  
  
Have a good weekend! 


	7. Questions

Torn  
  
Chapter Seven: Questions  
  
Kaoru stared with wide eyes full of concern as the young girl lurched out of Aoshi's office. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her knees were wobbling uncontrollably.  
  
An older woman stood up from her seat and hurried to the girl. She muttered something, catching the teenager's attention.  
  
Kaoru reached for a box of tissues on her desk and approached the mother and daughter.  
  
"Would you like one?" she motioned to the box. The teenager graciously yanked several tissues out of the compartment, but Kaoru didn't mind. It was the least she could do. She hated being useless, especially when there was someone who was in need of comfort.  
  
"T-thank you," the girl stammered, sniffling a bit into one of her tissues.  
  
"Come on, honey," the older woman coaxed. "Let's go home and we can talk over dinner, okay?"  
  
The girl sniffled again and nodded, her mother leading her to the elevator. They boarded it and then they were gone, but Kaoru's sympathy for the teenager didn't fade.  
  
'How many times does he do this?' Kaoru asked angrily to herself. She quickly scanned the now empty waiting room. It was Saturday, and this would be the last day of Kaoru's first completed week of her new job.  
  
Although she was grateful for her new occupation, she was disheartened by how often Aoshi's patients would leave his office in quiet frustration or in tears, or on some occasions, both.  
  
She stood in front of his door, realizing that it was still open. Her blue eyes peeked through the small crack to find Aoshi, head bent over notes as his pen scribbled diligently on the paper. Kaoru took a moment to notice the dark circles under his eyes and the weary look on his stoic face. Even if he was aloof, Aoshi was still a human.  
  
'He looks so exhausted,' she thought. Her considerate nature taking over, Kaoru went back to her desk and rummaged through her purse. She found some spare yen and headed to the elevator.  
  
* * * *  
  
"Shinomori-sama?"  
  
He looked up from his notes and saw his secretary standing at his door.  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
He nodded, returning to his work. He heard the shuffling of her heels as she came nearer, but he paid no attention.  
  
Suddenly, a green aluminum can materialized before him on his desk. Examining it, he saw that it was product of a brand name tea company. He then looked to his secretary, who had a similar can in her grasp and was already drinking its contents.  
  
Kaoru smiled at him. "I thought that you could use something to drink. You look like you've had a long day."  
  
He took the can into his hands, his skin absorbing the heat that emanated from it. "You can say that."  
  
Aoshi drank, the warm green tea sliding down his throat. He then looked at Kaoru again, and saw that she was staring at him, worry etched on her young face.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"That girl...the one that just walked out of here..."  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Is she okay?"  
  
"She will be," Aoshi replied, his tone neutral.  
  
Kaoru bit her lower lip, her concern for the patient still apparent. "She was crying when she left."  
  
"It's best to forget about her," he stated coldly, "and don't bother to pay any mind to the rest of them who walk out of here upset."  
  
Her concern altered to disgust. "How can you say that?"  
  
Aoshi set his drink down, ignoring the heightened pitch of her voice. "Thank you for the tea. If you don't mind, I have work to do."  
  
"How can you say that?" she repeated. "They're your patients, and you don't even care whether or not something's wrong with them?"  
  
Aoshi said nothing, and only the writing of his pen was in the pregnant silence of the office. Perhaps if he just ignored her, she would give up and leave.  
  
Instead, Kaoru walked over to his desk, anger swirling in the depths of her eyes.  
  
"Well?" she asserted. "Don't you have anything to say?"  
  
"And what should I say, Miss Kamiya?" Aoshi snapped, his patience wearing thin. "Better yet, what do you expect me to say? That I'm sorry? That I regret making that girl cry?"  
  
Kaoru glared at him, but failed to say anything.  
  
"What would it matter?" he continued. "Nothing I say afterward can make her or any of my other patients feel any better."  
  
"But you're their psychologist!" she interrupted. "They come to you for help."  
  
"No, they come for reassurance," Aoshi sullenly answered, and he rose from his chair. He walked over to his window, his back turned at her as he regarded the dark night sky hanging above the bright glow of the city lights. "A lot of them come in hopes that I hold all their answers. They anticipate me to tell them that everything will be all right, that the world will accept them despite their differences..."  
  
He watched a plane hovering soundlessly over the metropolis. "They come to me so I can tell them what they WANT to hear."  
  
Gradually, Kaoru's anger began to subside. Without knowing it, she walked over to her boss's side at his window.  
  
"But I tell them what they need to hear," he stated unemotionally, "which isn't necessarily what they want to hear.  
  
"I can't tell them that the world will accept them for who they are. I can't tell them that all of their problems will be solved eventually, or that everything will work out in the end."  
  
Aoshi sighed heavily, feeling his secretary's stare on him. "I can't lie to them. It isn't what I'm paid to do."  
  
Kaoru gave him a sympathetic look, but Aoshi's gaze didn't meet hers. There was something about the way that she looked at him that unnerved him.  
  
"So...you don't believe that their problems will be solved?"  
  
Her soft voice compelled him to answer, but he gave none.  
  
"Do you think that no matter what, your patients will never be able to be happy?"  
  
His indifferent countenance faltered at the question. Propping up his hand onto the cold glass of the window, he leaned forward and bowed his head. The obsidian strands of his hair spilled over his blue-gray eyes as he let out another sigh.  
  
"I don't know," he answered. "And I probably never will."  
  
* * * *  
  
A loud ringing broke the silence of the morning. Kaoru groggily opened her eyes and automatically pressed her hand on the top of her alarm clock. After a few seconds, a second ring sounded.  
  
"Stupid clock," she muttered, pulling herself out of bed. She threw the device a cranky stare, but then she realized that she hadn't even set it the night before.  
  
Today was Sunday, her first day off. Why would she even think to set her clock to wake her up at seven in the morning when she could sleep in instead?  
  
A third ring brought her back to her senses, and Kaoru shifted her attention to the phone on her other side. She hurriedly picked it up and cleared her throat. "Hello?"  
  
"Good morning, Kaoru-san!" an energetic voice of a hyperactive teenager greeted. "Are you awake?"  
  
"I am now," she replied, her exhaustion hiding her grumpy mood. "How are you, Misao?"  
  
"Great!" Kaoru could easily imagine the smile beaming on Misao's face. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
"Go where?"  
  
"Kaoru-san hasn't forgotten that today is Sunday, has she?" the younger girl asked fearfully.  
  
The realization hit her that Kaoru was to accompany Misao to the mall today. Laughing warmly, she said, "No, I remember."  
  
"Good! Well, come on out and we'll go!"  
  
Bewildered by her last sentence, Kaoru was about to speak until her brother's exhausted face popped into her room, his brown hair scattered crazily about his face.  
  
"Jou-chan, since when did we have a limousine?"  
  
* * * *  
  
"Kaoru-san, let's go to this store next!" Misao exclaimed, tugging at Kaoru's arm while her free hand held all of her shopping bags. The older girl had no choice but to follow her enthusiastic friend. She didn't want her right arm yanked from her body.  
  
They entered another clothing store. Pop music played from the speakers while customers, mostly teenage girls, roamed the racks and shelves excitedly.  
  
"This is my favorite store," Misao commented, and she squealed when she spotted a particular outfit. "That's so cute!" She ran over to it before any other girl had spotted it and decided to claim it as her own.  
  
Kaoru ran after her; getting lost in a clothing store full of posh high school girls wasn't her idea of fun.  
  
"You would look good in this!" Misao remarked, holding up a white dress that was supported with two thin straps. A pink rose floral print adorned the silky fabric beautifully. Not being one that was interested in fashion, even Kaoru had to admit that it was pretty.  
  
"Try it on!" Misao cried impatiently, pushing Kaoru into one of the empty dressing rooms. Her eyes twinkled upon seeing a pair of white platform sandals. "Oh, and these would go good with it!"  
  
Misao grabbed the sandals and pushed them into Kaoru's hand. "Come out when you're done!" she chirped, and shut the door to the dressing room.  
  
Blue eyes blinked, but Kaoru decided that it was best to go with it. Even if her companion was hyperactive, Kaoru couldn't deny that she was having a good time. It was like she was back in high school again. Misao was a fun person to be around, and it had been a very long time since Kaoru had socialized with anyone of the same gender. Other than Megumi and Tae, she didn't have any other friends that were women. Perhaps it was the fact that Kaoru was a tomboy that kept her from associating well with other females.  
  
Whatever the case, Kaoru was having fun. Despite her overexcited behavior, she could tell that Misao was a good person who didn't care whether or not she was ladylike.  
  
Slipping out of her flared jeans and sleeveless blue blouse, Kaoru changed into the form-fitting dress. After fastening the sandals on, she studied her reflection in the mirror. The dress had fallen a little above her knees, and slightly hugged her hips. Although she wasn't used to wearing something so feminine, Kaoru thought that she didn't look half-bad in it.  
  
Remembering Misao, she stepped out of the dressing room and into the store. The high school student clapped both sides of her face with her hands and let out another squeal.  
  
"Wow, Kaoru-san!" she cried in astonishment. "You look so pretty!"  
  
Her cheeks pinked, but Kaoru managed to smile. "Thanks." She looked around the store to find the piercing glares of the other female customers waiting outside of the dressing room.  
  
'They certainly don't look happy,' she thought.  
  
"Don't mind them," Misao said, as if she could read her mind. "They're just jealous." She stated loud enough for the rest of the young women to hear, and they promptly stuck up their noses or looked elsewhere.  
  
Kaoru's fingers lifted the price tag, and she nearly gaped at the amount that was printed onto the paper. "That's so expensive!"  
  
Misao caught the troubled look on her idol's face and examined the price tag. She broke into a grin after reading it. "That's it?"  
  
Kaoru stared at her. "Misao, what do you mean? That's pretty pricey for a dress, don't you think?"  
  
"No, that's standard here," the girl explained. "But Kaoru-san, does this mean you're not going to buy it?"  
  
"With the cash that I have, I might be able to buy one of the sandals on my feet," Kaoru joked.  
  
"I'll pay for it."  
  
Kaoru's eyes went wide at the younger girl. "I can't let you do that!" she protested. "It's so expensive—"  
  
"Don't worry about it!" Misao cheerfully replied. "It doesn't cost THAT much."  
  
Kaoru shook her head stubbornly. "Absolutely not. I appreciate you being nice, but—"  
  
"Kaoru-san, please," Misao insisted. "My allowance can cover up for it without a problem."  
  
She was about to protest again, but Misao interjected. "And besides, that dress looks too nice on you to let someone else buy it. I did all the shopping today. It wouldn't be fair if you went back home with nothing!"  
  
Before she could say anything else, Misao shoved the girl into the dressing room. "Now change! There are other people who need this dressing room, y'know?"  
  
Leaning against one of the walls, Kaoru sighed exasperatedly. There just was no getting through to the girl, at least not here. She would simply have to pay her back when Aoshi gave Kaoru her paycheck next week. For now, it was best to just go along with Misao.  
  
When she was changed, she carried the white dress and sandals in her arms. Misao took them from her gently and smiled.  
  
"I'm kind of hungry. Why don't we get a snack at the food court after I pay?"  
  
Seeing how it was a small chance to repay her, Kaoru nodded. "Sure."  
  
After the dress and sandals were purchased and put into a bag, the girls headed towards the food court. Both decided on frozen yogurt cones, which Kaoru was more than happy to pay for. She bought the treats form the vendor and then handed one to Misao.  
  
"Thanks!" she said and happily sat herself on the edge of a bench. Kaoru did the same and began to eat contently. She was joyous that she finally had the chance to sit down and rest her tired feet.  
  
"Kaoru-san, today has been fun, ne?" Misao asked, hoping that her idol would agree.  
  
"Of course!" Kaoru complied reassuringly. "I'm having a great time."  
  
Misao's doubt was washed away and another merry grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Good! I'm happy that Kaoru-san is having fun!"  
  
Kaoru smiled, and ate a bit more of her frozen yogurt. She watched as the people passed by her, their arms weighed down by heavy shopping bags. The sound of multiple conversations and laughter filled the lively atmosphere, and sunlight streamed into the area from the huge skylight on the ceiling. It was a beautiful day outside, but Kaoru didn't mind being where she was.  
  
"Kaoru-san?"  
  
She turned her head to Misao's direction. "Yes?"  
  
"That dress...I would like you to think of it as a gift from Aoshi- sama and me."  
  
Kaoru almost choked on the vanilla flavor of her yogurt. "What?"  
  
"I mean consider it something from him and me. Think of it as our way of saying 'thank you'."  
  
"But for what? I didn't do anything."  
  
Misao giggled, holding her sides with her arms. "Kaoru-san, you're really too modest."  
  
Arching an eyebrow, Kaoru was quiet, silently gesturing the girl to explain herself.  
  
"You've done something," she began. "You might not notice it, but you have."  
  
Kaoru stared at her, ignoring the fact that her yogurt was beginning to melt.  
  
"Grandpa talked to Aoshi-sama last night," Misao said as her feet began to rock back and forth against the bench. "He said that he looked different."  
  
"...how?"  
  
"He said that for once in a very long time, Aoshi-sama looked sad."  
  
Remembering the conversation that transpired between her and her boss, Kaoru's curious mood was overwhelmed with guilt.  
  
"I made him upset?"  
  
Seeing Kaoru's regretful expression, Misao waved her hands frantically. "You didn't do anything wrong! It's just that...well, it's been a while since Aoshi-sama looked concerned. For all the past years that we have known him, he always seemed so indifferent, like he didn't care about anything at all."  
  
The lively shimmer in her eyes softened to a contemplative gaze as Kaoru observed the younger girl. "For a very long time, Aoshi-sama always hid his feelings from us. He would never show us if he was angry, happy, or even if he was sad. Grandpa was so worried that he thought that Aoshi-sama had forgotten how to feel at all. Even I was afraid of that, but now I'm not..."  
  
Misao turned to her idol, a compassionate smile playing on her lips. "You helped him, Kaoru-san."  
  
"What are you talking about? I've only been working for the guy for a week!"  
  
"That doesn't matter. I'm not sure what you two argued about, but it changed him. I think he actually feels sorry."  
  
The high school student looked at her almost pleadingly. "I know he seems mean and uptight at times, but Aoshi-sama is a really good guy. He's just been through a lot."  
  
Her fingers twiddled with the end of her long braid contemplatively. "So if he says something cruel to you, he doesn't mean it. I think out of all the secretaries he has had, he probably likes you the most."  
  
A laugh escaped her lips. "That's good to know. I couldn't tell whether or not he wanted to kick me out of his office by how quiet he is."  
  
Misao giggled. "That's just how he acts. But really Kaoru-san..."  
  
Kaoru listened intently, the frozen yogurt forgotten in her hand.  
  
"...thank you. Thank you for everything."  
  
* * * *  
  
Aoshi pushed aside the finished documents that Kaoru had set out for him earlier and began on a new pile of papers. It was a Monday night, and as usual, he was swamped with his patients' files and appointment schedules. His secretary had said nothing after Saturday night, but he wasn't the least surprised. By now, she probably would never talk to him again until the day she decided to quit. That was what happened with all of his other secretaries, and it wouldn't be different now.  
  
Kaoru probably hated him. She probably thought that he was an inconsiderate and coldhearted bastard who did nothing but listen inattentively to distraught teenagers. He was probably just an indifferent psychologist who cared nothing more about anything else except for the money in his wallet.  
  
She would stick around the office for a few more weeks, and then she would quit. Aoshi knew it, too. Employing new secretaries was an endless cycle for him.  
  
The door opened and he heard a shuffling of heels against his floor. He didn't look up from his papers; Aoshi already knew who it was. He proceeded with his paperwork as she drew nearer, pretending to be absorbed into the fine print on the white papers.  
  
Something was set on his desk, and he looked to see a green plastic can. His eyes lingered on it a bit longer, and then they shifted to his young secretary.  
  
"Thought you were thirsty."  
  
Aoshi did nothing at first, but then took the heated drink into his hands. "Thank you."  
  
There was an uneasy silence in the cool atmosphere of the office as the two sipped their drinks wordlessly. Aoshi caught a glimpse of the girl, who was doing her best to not make eye contact with him. He wasn't surprised at this gesture, however. He knew that it was always uncomfortable for a person to quit their job after working for only a week...  
  
"Why did you become a psychologist?"  
  
The question was simple enough, but unexpected nonetheless. Aoshi gawked at her like she had said something profane.  
  
However, Kaoru didn't take notice. She looked back at him, patiently waiting for an answer.  
  
"Why do you want to know?" he asked skeptically.  
  
She shrugged her shoulders. "I was just curious."  
  
Aoshi's face remained stoic while he leaned his back into his chair. "No special reason. I excelled in human behavioral science classes at my university, and I felt that this would be the best career for me."  
  
"But why?"  
  
Wondering why she was unsatisfied with his answer, Aoshi grew suspicious. "It's simple enough to understand, isn't it?"  
  
"...I guess."  
  
"Then what is this really about, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
"I just wanted to know why you keep doing what you do," she replied truthfully. It's not surprising that you know how to do your job. But why have you put up with it for this long?"  
  
"I don't have a choice," Aoshi answered firmly.  
  
"Yes, you do," Kaoru persisted, "but you choose to stay here anyway."  
  
Not knowing what she meant, the psychologist remained silent.  
  
"You once said to me that you tell your patients what they need to hear. Why, Aoshi?"  
  
She had used his first name. The conversation had taken a turn to something more personal. Instead of a secretary and a psychologist, there were now only an eighteen year-old girl talking to a man of twenty-five years of age.  
  
He rubbed his forehead sorely and sighed. She was different; he had known that since the time that he interviewed her. So the logical thing to do was to answer her truthfully, or else the stubborn girl would stay there until he finally gave her a response.  
  
"Because I was once like them."  
  
Kaoru noticed the depression in his voice, but she was quiet. She figured that after hearing the problems of his countless patients, Aoshi would need someone to listen to him for once.  
  
"I was insecure, hopeless, frustrated...in short, I hated myself. When I was younger, I used to want the same thing they wanted: comfort."  
  
She stared at him attentively, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her. There was something uneasy about the situation. Aoshi was a reserved person who didn't show his emotions, and there she was, watching his confidence slowly slipping away.  
  
But the pain was too much. He couldn't shut it away this time.  
  
"When I was fifteen, I finally realized that there was no such thing. My father was constantly away on business trips, my mother drunk out of her mind...where was I to find comfort anywhere else when I couldn't even find it in my own family? I came to terms with the fact that I could never count on other people for strength or support. In order to continue with my life, I comprehended that I was the only person that I could ever trust.  
  
"So I became a psychologist to make them understand what I had a long time ago. I don't want them to waste their lives depending on people to reassure them of what they fear most. In the end, it all comes down to them to figure out their own problems. They can't leave it to others to do it for them."  
  
Strangely, he felt a heavy weight lift off of his shoulders, but the tension still remained. After hearing what he said, he didn't doubt if Kaoru decided to quit within the next week. Who could really blame her?  
  
"...but they're just teenagers," she said, her voice in the form of a small, but clear, murmur. "They'll be adults soon, but they're still kids, Aoshi."  
  
She walked casually to his desk and unceremoniously dropped her empty can into the wastebasket. Kaoru then settled onto the leather couch that his patients would usually sit in during appointments.  
  
"You're right when you say that it's up to a person to solve their own problems," she started, "but that doesn't mean that they can't get help."  
  
Her fingers unconsciously brushed back a few strands of her from her face, Aoshi watching her as he listened.  
  
"Think about it for a second. It must be really hard to be in high school and have so many troubles in your life. To a degree, wouldn't anyone in your patients' places need to be comforted?"  
  
"...I can't lie to them like that," Aoshi interrupted. "They can't be dependent on other people—"  
  
"But wasn't everyone dependent on someone else at one time?" Kaoru cut him off. "When you were little, didn't you count on an adult to pick you up when you fell, or help you reach places you couldn't reach?"  
  
He was astonished at the slightly heightened level of her voice, and the emotion that seemed to drip from every word was startling. Whereas the secretaries before her wouldn't even give him so much a second glance, Kaoru had given him a drink and an argument to boot.  
  
"I'm not telling you to lie to your patients. But don't stand there and do nothing when they start crying."  
  
The memory of the girl's tear-stained face crossed her mind, and Kaoru's heart stung at the image. "Just...be there for them. You don't have to say anything, but the least you can do is cheer them up a little."  
  
She offered him a small smile. "Besides, they're only human. Right?"  
  
Aoshi stared at her in silence, but then his lips curved upwards in a genuine smile. "When you put it that way, I guess so."  
  
Kaoru stood up from the couch and stretched her arms. "Well, I better get home."  
  
She approached the door, but Aoshi stopped her.  
  
"What do you plan to do after college, Miss Kamiya?"  
  
Kaoru turned around to face him. "I don't really know yet. I was kind of thinking about teaching. Why?"  
  
"I was just going to say that you could be a decent psychologist or a counselor."  
  
She laughed. "No, I thought about being a guidance counselor but my brother convinced me that I wasn't cut out for the job."  
  
"I guess he would know," Aoshi said dryly. "Sanosuke did spend a lot of quality time with the guidance counselor at our high school."  
  
Kaoru's eyes widened at the comment. "You were in Sano's high school?!"  
  
Aoshi grimaced. "Unfortunately, I had to spend all three years with him in my classes," he said, taking one last sip of the green tea Kaoru had given him. "He's the reason why our principal was constantly searching for new teachers."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"You never asked."  
  
He was amused by Kaoru's inquisitive nature as she bombarded him with questions about her brother. To tell the truth, Aoshi saw a little of Sano's stubbornness in her, but he didn't mind. At least Kaoru didn't blast deafening rock music or make bets with his patients as her brother did with his classmates in high school.  
  
For some reason that night, Aoshi was relieved that he wouldn't have to hire another secretary for a long while.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
  
Okay, I know that there wasn't much of Enishi in this chapter...in fact, I don't think I mentioned him. You could hate me if you want, but I promise that the next chapter will practically be devoted to him. I just wanted to show Kaoru's relationships with the other characters, and I felt really bad that I barely wrote about Aoshi. Plus, I liked writing the mall scene. I apologize for any small errors: I was in a rush to post this. I'm sorry if this was boring, but the next update will be better. Really!  
  
And as for those of you who want to know about Kenshin, I don't plan on adding him very soon...but who knows? When I do, things are bound to get really interesting.  
  
Have a good weekend, and thank you so much for the reviews! I'm really happy that you guys are reading this!!! 


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